Lessons in Shinobi Love
by Melissa Norvell
Summary: CHAPTER 17 POSTED. KakashiXSakura. Kakashi notices Sakura’s naieve love for Sasuke, and while in survival training decides to take affirmative action. Can he show Sakura the value of a more mature type of love?
1. Lesson 1: To Analyze

**A/N: Whoo hoo! First multi-chapter Naruto fanfic. Here's basic information.**

**Title: Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**Author: Melissa Norvell**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Pairing: KakashiXSakura**

**Warning: Sexual innuendos. Things may get worse, but I don't plan on putting anything hentai into this at all. **

**Summary: CHAPTER 1 POSTED. KakashiXSakura. Kakashi notices Sakura's naieve love for Sasuke, and while in survival training decides to take affirmative action. Can he show Sakura the value of a more mature type of love?**

**Lessons In Shinobi Love**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

**Lesson 1: To Analyze**

"_My name is Haruno Sakura."_

Haruno Sakura, student of three on the ninja squad 7 lead by elite Shinobi Hatake Kakashi.

"_My favorite thing is…Well, it's not a thing. It's a person. A boy…"_

Ever since they had been put through the harsh and somewhat strange survival training of their sensei, Sakura had always felt that way about that certain boy…

"_And that boy is. Uh…Let's move on to my dream. My hobbies are…"_

That certain boy being one Uchiha Sasuke, the class heart throb. Upon hearing Sakura's introduction, the silver haired sensei sighed to himself. _'Young girls are more concerned about love then being a Shinobi.' _He thought to himself with slight irritation.

But Kakashi didn't expect any more from this squad as he did from the squads he had failed in the past. To him, they were nothing but a bunch of kids who weren't mature enough to handle things and didn't know what being a ninja truly was. They probably thought this was all a game, or that they could all become a jounin like it was a breeze.

He could already tell that they were going to fail by the pink haired girl's reply of. "Things I hate…Naruto." They didn't know the value of friendship or teamwork. Since they were going to fail, the jounin thought he should at least have fun with them for a while.

The silver haired ninja remembered that training session well.

" _Are you trying to make fun of the shinobi with your behavior? Well, are you?"_

"_You Sakura ignored Naruto who was right in front of you. While you paid attention to Sasuke though you didn't know where he was."_

Sasuke. What was so important about him? Kakashi could see the error of his ways by his distant actions toward both Sakura and Naruto. Yet he knew so much more lay beneath the surface. He couldn't help but feel something foreign stirring deep within him.

They were feelings that he couldn't place. Something stirring and unnerving. Kakashi wasn't used to these strange feelings within the pit of his gut. They are feelings that the jounin wouldn't forget, but at the moment, decided to disregard.

Throughout that survival training, upon noticing the way that the pink haired ninja in training reacted to Sasuke, the feeling seemed to grow and rise within him, seeming to swirl around like a toxic mixture within him. He tried to analyze these growing feelings while he toyed with Sakura's feelings for the stoic ninja.

At first this seemed like a game to Kakashi, as one of his favorite past times seemed to be picking at and playing with his student's mentality.

But why did he feel so strange about this girl and her naieve love for Sasuke?

As she was doing as he had instructed, hiding amongst the greenery of the bush she had concealed herself in he watched her, like a hawk intently watching prey. Watching and waiting to take it as its own.

"Hmm…" He out a hand under his chin to study the pink haired girl from high above in the tree branches.

The jounin stay motionless in the tree and had almost forgotten to breathe upon noticing her piercing green eyes, concentrating on whatever might come out of the clear blue to attack her. There was a certain way that intrigued Kakashi about the way the shadows and highlights played upon her facial features. The way her pink hair framed her face in such a way to provoke a certain charm. The way her eyes shown through those shadows and light play, and how the shades and hues dances around within their depths. The way her soft lips curved, and the way her pink cascades fell over her shoulders so. He could hear her supple breathing. Her soft, small hands were splayed out over the grass, twitching with anticipation.

He would get her alone. Kakashi had to lead her away from the others.

That would be no problem for him, jumping down from the tree, he decided to lead her astray with the wounded Sasuke gag, leaving her in the middle of a field and disappearing. Sakura was looking around in bewilderment.

Kakashi was beginning to analyze the cryptic feelings that had been stirring inside him. Dare he admit that he may be jealous of those such as Sasuke? As far as Kakashi was concerned, they all had it easier then he did. Now, the silver haired ninja's only comfort was _'Icha Icha Paradise' _. He had to admit that the book was his only outlet of his lonely feelings.

This confused the sensei. There seemed to be something forbidden about what Kakashi was beginning to find out. It seemed wrong, and despite it all he didn't seem to care. In this growing thought love clashed with morals and he found himself with a mental image of those hands, comforting him on the nights that he felt overwhelmed by the world. Those eyes, shining in haunting and twisted brilliance upon him. The reassuring words, echoing through his ears in a blissful whisper, relieving him of his hellish guilt. He wanted to do the same to her…

He came to a few realizations upon those thoughts.

He needed love and it didn't matter who it was from.

He was lonely.

But he felt oddly inspired to give himself another chance.

He blinked, noticing that he had not been focused on the task at hand. Naruto or Sasuke could have easily gotten him like that. He exhaled the breath that he didn't know he had deprived himself of. Kakashi had long wanted to seek compassion and love within another person, even if she appeared to be a romantic fool of a drama queen. The jounin would be the first to make the move, to teach her to grow up, in more ways then one. To show her the advantages of mature love.

The silver haired man had seen that she held something deep for Sasuke, and knew just how to bring that about in a way satisfying to himself.

He smiled at Sakura, for more reasons then the fact that she was being a drama queen. The jounin found her escapades quite humorous and even cute and charming.

Kakashi stood for a few moments, pondering to himself.

He had to make the precise moves. Any cause for error would result in the destruction of fragile innocence. That was something that had to be handled with great finesse. It would call for some walking on egg shells.

But Kakashi was careful.

He decided to make his move by randomly appearing, as he always had done in the past, directly in front of Sakura, startling her. The pink haired ninja in training did not scream, she simply gasped, but seemed to calm as she noticed the intense stare of her sensei's eye which was visible. His cryptic gaze was hard for the pink haired girl to solve. It wasn't anger or being displeased with Squad 7's efforts. It was the type of gaze that that brought shivers up her spine and inevitably caused blush to surface to her cheeks. She was left powerless by his gaze. Kakashi seemed to take her words out of her mouth and disperse them to the wind, never to be found again.

How could that stare say so much, yet so little?

'_Kakashi-sensei…'_ Was the only thought that ran through her head.

Sakura was a bit confused. The look that was only described as adoration to the pink haired girl confused her. Why would Copy Ninja Kakashi have any adoration towards her?

The Copy Ninja was amused and entranced by this. He liked the way the sun played with the shine on her hair and the sparkle in her eyes. Kakashi liked the way the wind danced in her hair and played with the ties of her headband. Most of all, he liked the fact of that he could stir an eminent blush and she didn't run from him, as she would normally.

She had inadvertently learned not to act as a mindless drone and listen to everything he said during the exercise.

_He would stop her childish crushes…_

_And replace them with a more mature kind of love._

Now, it was more of a vow that the Copy Ninja had made to himself. He knew he could teach her to love by his definition and she could teach him to live again. To feel.

She blanked out for a moment, but once she came into realization, he was gone. Sakura seemed to snap out of her haze, the only image of Kakashi was the one presented as a mental image. The girl looked about her to see if there was any sign of her sensei. There was none.

Sakura moved gracefully around, trying to find her sensei or a sign of anyone else that might be nearby, preferably Sasuke. The white haired sensei knew that person was going through her mind by that look of ecstasy written on her face. He narrowed his eyes.

Sakura was different then his other two students, she for once made him feel a way that seemed to awaken some deeply harbored feelings within him that he had always thought to be dormant.

He had to ponder of the situation from his hiding place. He didn't want to be too forward about it, seeing as the pink haired ninja barely knew him and vice versa. He'd come off as more of a pervert to her if he just walked up and said something along the lines of 'I want to sleep with you' to her. Truth be told that didn't seem to matter to him as much as finding someone who was capable of love and compassion. Now, he just wanted someone to quell the lingering feeling of loneliness kept captive, deep within his icy heart, frozen over the years with layers of death and destruction clinging tightly.

He couldn't tell the young ninja the feelings that she aroused in him. There were no words to describe those types of feelings.

As stupid and insecure as it sounded, he wanted to be considered _special_.

"Kakashi-sensei?" His sharp ears could detect her say his name in a shaken and unsure voice.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, the silver haired jounin was right behind her.

"Don't turn around." He instructed from behind her.

Despite the pink haired ninja's curiosity to do otherwise, she did as she was instructed.

"Now, close your eyes."

"What?" she questioned timidly.

Kakashi sighed. After a pause, Sakura closed her eyes, thinking that failure was eminent if she didn't. After a moment of biting at her lower lip, she finally replied. "Ok."

"Don't open them, no matter what. Things are not as they seem." The silver haired jounin said as he gently removed her regulation headband from her head. She flinched at the sudden touch.

"Remain focused, remain still, and don't do anything out of line." He said with a provocative edge to his voice. He watched the way the pink strands replaced themselves from having the headband removed. In a beautiful disarray. He wondered if those strands were as silky as they looked, shimmering in the sunlight. He wanted to touch them to find out.

"To touch it…" Kakashi seemed to finish a sentence which started deep within the confines of his mind.

The pink haired girl wondered to herself what the heck he was talking about, but her eyes remained closed. She had a feeling that Kakashi wasn't like other guys. Though he read his infamous _'Icha Icha Paradise' _book, that he was a respectful jounin and wouldn't do anything that was out of line. From their survival training thus far, she was able to piece together that Kakashi was respectful even if his morals were a bit shabby.

His voice sounded so soft, kind and dare she think it? Sexy? Was she being hit on by her teacher? The very thought sent blush arising to her cheeks and Sasuke wasn't even a whim on her mind at the moment.

Kakashi wanted to forget about the past, and the memorial, which lay on their training grounds. He gently took some Sakura's hair in his hand, feeling the pliable, slick and smooth surface of her hair as it slipped through his fingers and smelled of a hint of strawberry shampoo. The scent seemed intoxicating enough for Kakashi. Something stirred within the Copy Ninja and he shifted uncomfortably.

The girl gulped in uncertainty as Kakashi allowed a smile from within the confines of its masking. _'So trusting…'_

He could sense the feelings grow within the pit of his stomach as he put a hand on her smooth shoulder. "Just relax and learn to feel…"

Sakura was dying to open her eyes. This was Kakashi; the most perverted, insufferable shinobi that Konoha had ever produced. She wanted to slap his hand away and yell at him for being a pervert. Who knew what he was going to do? And Naruto and Sasuke were no where to be seen.

She was all alone with him.

The pink haired girl was starting to feel things of her own. A calm sensation ran over her body just from his touch of her hair and shoulder. It made her feel a sense of protection. His piercing eye went through Sakura's head at the moment. So many unexplained feelings coursed through her as a result of that. She hardly knew what to think. As the jounin played with her hair, she pondered to herself.

As she pondered on his eye, she could think of how captivating it was. It was piercing and seemed to see right through you, as if it could hold your soul in freeze frame over time, but it had many other emotions now and Sakura had to wonder what those emotions were.

Sakura didn't open her eyes, for reasons that she had been keeping to herself. She was feeling apprehensive; and seemed to be waiting for something that she knew that would happen. She wanted that something to happen.

She was more desperate then she let anyone know.

Even Sasuke…

The jounin was in front of her with effortless movement. Gazing into her now open eyes, the pools of eminent confusion and radiant beauty all the same. A sensation pulled at him to lower his head and kiss her. To capture her as his own.

The pink haired ninja just stared back.

No one moved. No one wanted to either.

Sakura was beginning to notice things. Kakashi wasn't going to be perverted, and she also had a growing feeling that this wasn't part of the training exercise. She felt a rush of warm emotion flowing to her heart and spoke one word.

"You…"

"I can't be easy on you, but I can show you that there is more to life then Sasuke."

Kakashi was so…Overwhelming.

"What?" She questioned numbly.

The Copy Ninja leaned in and kissed Sakura on the lips though the mask. It was a long, lingering yet sweet and reassuring kiss. "Some things, Sakura, were never meant to be."

"Huh?"

But Kakashi had already Replacement jutsu-ed his way out, leaving Sakura to ponder on things. Did she really love Sasuke? If she did, she now questioned it being just a crush.

She knew her sensei had some sort of intention behind it, but how deep did they run? She touched her lips lightly with her fingers, feeling the strange sensation that he had left upon them and the tingling that he left in her heart.

Now, she wanted to know what Kakashi was hiding. What was the purpose of that? It clearly wasn't to see through deception, because those intentions were very pure of him. There were no hidden meanings, just complete honesty.

She made up her mind to find out what those intentions were.

No matter what.

Did he love her?

Because she certainly felt something about him.

**TBC**

**A/N: Wow, that was long for me. This is un-beta read, so if there are mistakes, sorry. Please tell me what you think. I'll definitely continue it.**


	2. Lesson 2: To Let Go

**Here is my next chapter. Thanks for all of the hits and reviews. You guys are great. I'll try to carry out my usual 6-7 page chapters, but that means it will take longer for me to update.**

**I'm going to try and update weekly. So every Monday look for something from me. Oh regarding some of the reviews, since I post this at both and **

**IMPORTANT NOTE, PLEASE READ: Yes, Sakura is 12 here, but there will be a time lapse. I'm not a sicko or anything. I do realize that things are a bit weird in the way I'm doing it. People at Mediaminer seem to like it because she's not 6-10 years older. I'm eventually going to get around to the point in the storyline where she is 14-15. For now it's just romantic situations, nothing gross just a kiss here and there and general cuteness.**

**Thank you for all of your reviews, however. Good or bad you all made my day and I am happy to receive commentary on this fanfic. I'm especially glad that you all like the way I portray Kakashi, he's my favorite character.**

**Sorry for delays, I'm also working on other fics as well. So try to be patient.**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

**Lesson 2: To Let Go**

"_Some things, Sakura, were never meant to be."_

What did that phrase mean?

It had repeated itself over and over again in Sakura's mind. Just as the memory of the long, sweet kiss. The very thought of it brought back all of the sensations that arose from deep within her soul. The feeling of the soft fabric pressing to her lips. The confusion that ran through her mind. The look in Kakashi's visible eye.

It ran through her intellect like a never ending circle, doomed to repeat itself.

She barely even knew her sensei, not only that, but upon their first meeting he had already made an advance on her and kissed her.

Sakura had to admit that her sensei was definitely weird. When the pink haired ninja in training looked back on those phrases, many left her in question.

Sakura recalled the events of only a few minutes earlier as she stood in the center of the field, the wind playing with her pink locks which were now free of her headband.

Her headband?

Did Kakashi still have it?

A sense of frantic went through her widening green eyes as she emitted a small gasp and looked around her wildly for the article of clothing. She took a step backward to hear a rustling noise. Upon hearing the noise, she looked in the direction of the said foot to see what she was stepping on.

It was her headband.

She looked down on it with confusion and something else that was only released as a sparkle of her eyes. The girl recalled a few moments ago, when Kakashi was running his hands through her hair.

"_Just relax and learn to feel…"_

Though she could not see his face, she pictured him wearing a kind gaze when uttering that sentence. Something about the way he uttered that phrase made her want to believe that his intentions were good.

Just what did that phrase mean, anyway? What did he mean by "learn to feel"? Learn to feel what?

She picked up the headband and held it by either side in her hands, looking at the ninja symbol on the front of the metal plate. After staring at the metallic object for a while, she slowly put it back upon her head, readjusting it to fit her properly.

Green eyes looked about the field, looking for any sign of Sasuke or Naruto. She decided to take off running through the thin threads of grass in order to find Sasuke, Naruto was the furthest thing on her mind. Sakura had to find Sasuke. She just had to…

In the middle of her sprint through the trees, a sudden reflection flashed through her intellect.

"_I can't be easy on you, but I can show you that there is more to life then Sasuke."_

Emerald eyes flashed a luminescent color and widened as a tiny gasp was emitted. The pink haired girl could feel a new prang of emotional pain in her chest when the name Sasuke went through her mind in her sensei's voice.

Pained bewilderment entered her being as her pace slowed and she wore a disheartened look on her face. The initial reason she wanted to be a ninja was to impress Sasuke. That was the reason she joined Squad 7, and being on that squad with him only amplified her own happiness of having her girlish dreams come true.

But now…

Now there was Kakashi-sensei…

What did he mean? More to life then Sasuke?

She had already wondered enough about the mysterious jounin, why did things have to be so confusing? Did he love her, or was this some type of ninja trick? Sakura stopped, looking down and failing to notice Sasuke's head for a few minutes.

Deep within her soul, she wanted to believe that her sensei was true in his actions. Everything just felt so right for the moment. His touch was so gentle and his voice…She had to blush at that and bring a finger up to her lips.

Why could she not stop thinking about Kakashi?

A calm and under toned voice caught her attention enough to snap her out of whatever she was thinking at the moment.

"Sakura?"

"Hm?" she questioned.

As she turned her head, not being in the right mentality to fully focus, she saw that only Sasuke's head was visible. A sudden panic ran through her body at only seeing a disembodied head there, so she let out an ear piercing scream.

"**YAAAAAHH! SASUKE'S A HEAD WITHOUT A BODY!" **She just couldn't take it! Her mind had suffered enough from the torture of not eating yesterday and the fact that Kakashi had been going quite hard on them, not to mention his advances prior to the fact that she had already had feelings for Sasuke and everything seemed to be clashing with her new found feelings. Her mind was on over load, so she had to shut it down and give it a rest the only way she knew how- - fainting.

She happily let herself succumb to the darkness. Anything to rid herself of her troublesome thoughts at the moment. Through the void she became fuzzy as she heard a voice uttering "hey…" When she slowly and unsurely opened her eyes she could see Sasuke, body intact holding her.

Sakura's haze was still there as she laid eyes on his face. This was the face of the boy that she had once loved. Or does she still? The pink haired ninja in training gave a slightly confused look before returning to her happy self.

Or what she thought to be which…

After all, this was every girl's dream to be held by Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" The girl cheered in relief, but there was that inward feeling. She almost jolted at the pierce of ache she felt in her heart. It was almost excruciating as she lunged forward and hugged him. "You're alive!"

She flinched at the way the pain increased, feeling as if she had been stabbed upon giving the hug. The pain caused her to lean even more into her fellow classmate, nearly bringing the surprised ninja to the ground.

"Time's running out. It's almost noon." He said simply, rising. "I'm off."

" Sasuke, do you honestly think you can get one of those bells?" She asked, knowing that it seemed impossible herself and wondering why she didn't take the chance when Kakashi caught her off guard and toyed with her hair. She mentally slapped herself, and then mentally slapped herself for mentally slapping herself.

"I got close enough to touch them. This time I'm going to take them."

Sakura seemed anxious but smiled in adoration. "Really? Wow! You're amazing!"

'_This is terrible! How will ever get a bell for myself? I might end up some where far away from Sasuke!' _She thought, and felt that same prang of pain, along with one intrusive thought of a certain jounin's commentary on that subject.

"_I can't be easy on you, but I can show you that there is more to life then Sasuke."_

Maybe that's how he meant that statement.

"Uh…" She began to get nervous at that thought. "I mean, there's no more time…Even if we didn't get it this time, I'm sure that we gave it our all…"

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Sasuke reacted the same way he had reacted prior to her babbling. The stoic ninja let out a low growl and turned his head away from her.

A flashback of that infamous kiss ran through her mind and played through her head like a cinema big screen.

"_Some things, Sakura, were never meant to be."_

The pink haired girl had felt a wound, but it was only a needle prick compared to the ones she felt when hugging the dark haired boy earlier. It was as if something wanted her to let go of Sasuke.

No way!

No way would she let go after she tried so hard and finally got him right where she wanted him.

"Only I can kill him."

"Who?" She questioned, and then a profound flutter of panic ran through her chest. "You mean Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura had said that with a bit more edge to her voice, even she noticed that it held some depth of compassionate for her sensei. Just from spending that few moments with him, developed feelings within Sakura that she couldn't explain or describe.

The girl seemed torn between the teacher and her heart throb. This was a predicament.

"He made me cry…"

"You cried?" She asked, seeming troubled about the sorrowful edge to her comrade's voice. That edge sounded familiar…

She blinked.

"_Some things, Sakura, were never meant to be."_

It was almost the indistinguishable tone to that phrase. Her mind began to run wild once more, thinking about both men and their problems.

"My…"

"What…What are you talking about?" She asked, confused beyond all belief. Any clearance would do more then help her. No offense to Sasuke's current state, but he didn't know what she just went through.

But instead he left her in question once again. Walking away to venture back to gain one of those bells from Kakashi, leaving her twice as confused and a little worried about her sensei.

'_Does Sasuke really want to kill Kakashi-sensei?' _She wondered; concern flashing through her green eyes, shining with the confused and poignant brilliance of before.

"Why do these things happen to me?" Sakura asked herself in a berating tone.

The pink haired ninja in training blinked, then looked up to the sky and sighed.

There was no way to acquire the bells in such a short amount of time. She was sure to fail the entrance exam. Sakura wouldn't get in with Sasuke and therefore let him down.

There went that prang of hurt again.

The pink haired girl could never understand that feeling. It was like hell was unleashed in her body. Something didn't want her to have Sasuke. Some deep, internal doubt within her was cause, or at least, she believed it to be so.

Or could it be from that chance encounter?

Whatever it was, she was sure to figure it out and not give up on Sasuke. That stoic ninja would be hers!

Then why did she feel so empty thinking, saying it or even coming into contact with him? She wanted to cry from frustration, either that or scream like a maniac. All of this was grinding on her nerves something severe.

Figuring her time was almost up, she walked dejectedly back to the three wooden posts.

Sakura sat there, looking dejected at the fact that she had failed, was hungry and had no bells. The pink haired girl wrapped her arms around her knees, which were arched up and put her head into them.

A few minuets she heard soft footsteps getting closer and closer through the grass. The echoing sound of lazy steps becoming louder and louder as they neared her. She looked up from her current position to see none other then her sensei looking down at her.

The girl couldn't help but let a small blush come to her cheeks as she stared at him. She seemed to be entranced by his gaze, and this time he wasn't even giving her the same adoring look that he was before.

Kakashi did manage to let a small smile creep upon his features, not that it could be seen by anyone but him, but that smile went away upon seeing Naruto and Sasuke make it back.

Sakura put her head back in her arms, to hide her blush from every one.

This was something that she didn't want to tell.

**TBC**

**A/N: That was the end of that chapter. Sorry there isn't much interaction between them here, but there will be in the next chapter. If thoughts and quotes seemed repetitive, that's because they were. I wanted to show the character's confusion about her predicament. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	3. Lesson 3: To Question

**A/N: Here I am with another chapter. There are some KakaXSaku moments in here. Yes, all of these chapters have began in quote form. Please R & R!**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

**Lesson 3: To Question**

"_YOU!...Pass." _

After proving themselves to Kakashi, the three of them decided to walk home. They had passed the survival training and felt like celebrating.

The three of them walked slowly and at a casual pace in silence, while hearing the remote screaming of Naruto in the background, which was still tied to the post. Kakashi figured that the young Genin would eventually get himself free. It was, after all, punishment to the blonde for trying to take the food without first completing the assignment.

After walking for what seemed like hours, Sasuke decided to go his own way, bidding his good-bye to his sensei and colleague.

"See you tomorrow, Sasuke." The white haired sensei said simply, turning behind him to look at the departing boy, and then his gaze slowly shifted to the pink haired girl to his right.

Sakura had her hands clasped together, in that loving gesture and the same adoring look in her sparkling green eyes, the brilliance caught within the rays of the sun. Kakashi's gaze narrowed once more. He knew what was to be uttered from her pink lips.

It was the phrase that both irritated and disheartened him. The very mention of the stoic ninja's name brought fourth those same stirred feelings within the jounin and made him all the more determined to do what he could to make the pink haired ninja see the error in her way of choice.

"Bye Sasuke. See you tomorrow." His sharp ears detected the dreamy tone and flirtatiousness of her youthful voice and sighed in irritation to himself.

Upon opening his eyes, he realized one crucial element- they were alone now.

Just the two of them.

From this point onward, they would be walking alone.

"Hm…" Kakashi sighed to himself, barely above a whisper as he gave a thoughtful look to the clouds.

'_Excellent.' _The jounin thought to himself.

After standing still for a few moments, he turned to Sakura and simply spoke.

"Shall we go?"

"Huh?" Sakura tore her loving gaze from the stoic Genin to look back at her sensei. "Oh, yeah. Of course."

She smiled brightly at him, and he took in the time to notice the way the sun amplified her features when she was happy. The way the shine of her hair seemed to intensify the radiance. The way her supple lips curved upward and the way her cheeks caressed her mouth. Her long lashes when closed even seemed to smile at him.

Upon seeing this, it was something that Kakashi could yet again see himself with. The thought of waking to that face put him in a haze of ecstasy of his own. That smile was meant for him alone, and he wanted to see that face, comforting him when times got rough. He wanted to see that face carrying that kind, loving smile when looking at him, and not Sasuke.

It was truly a sight to behold, and the white haired ninja took as much time as needed to bask in the glory of it. After taking the desired amount of time; not being overly silent as to cause question but giving enough time for her to open her eyes once more and showcase those beautiful gems of emerald to him, the two turned to walk down the path yet again, walking side by side.

Kakashi noticed the way that her body moved. So graceful and effortless as she walked. She was truly a creature of elegance. He also noticed the way her pink locks danced behind her as the ever taunting wind danced with her hair in an endless waltz behind her. Sakura was an attentive girl, taking in all of her surroundings as she looked around.

Minus one.

The Copy Ninja kept his head up, looking head while taking the occasional glance at Sakura as the two walked in complete silence. All that could be heard was the sounds of nature around them and their light footsteps, crunching the crisp grass, and any offending twigs that dared to lay in their path.

"What do you all _do _after school, anyway?" The once silent Kakashi spoke seemingly out of nowhere.

The pink haired Genin didn't answer him. She was off in her own Sasuke-indulged world.

Perhaps it was time to snap her out of that.

He gently sat a hand on Sakura's shoulder as she walked; taking time to take in those features that he loved so much about her. The green eyed girl looked at him with a split second puzzled look, and then her features corrected themselves into a peaceful happy smile.

"Kakashi-sensei." The pink haired girl asked.

"Yes, Sakura?" he answered, seeming a bit happier now that he wasn't being pushed aside for Sasuke.

"Why don't we take a little rest before we head the rest of the way back?" She asked. "We worked hard today and my feet are really hurting."

"Alright. Where would you like to rest?" The Copy Ninja asked.

Upon walking a few more steps, they both seemed to spot a sawed off tree at the same time and began to sit down, from opposite sides of the tree, trying to see who's tail end could make it there first.

Kakashi lost.

He sat dazedly on the ground, and noting to himself that tree roots didn't feel that well when ran in your butt crack. Sakura blinked and made a small "huh" as the turned to see him sitting there.

'_That's what he gets for trying to take away my chair! Kyaa!' _She thought to herself, but all thoughts ceased when her sensei, upon getting up to rid his tail end from the roots, had reached around coyly and put his hand on her thigh and the other around her waist.

This stirred a blush deep within the girl. The feelings of earlier that day. The once dormant feelings for her sensei reopening within her. Loving your teacher? That sounded like one of those adolescent fantasies…But it seemed to be more then that to Sakura.

This moment gave her time to take in things that could only be understood and read by another's touch. There was so much in Kakashi's touch. Green orbs moved to the hand sat on her thigh, it was simply in the middle of her leg, and for someone who read _Icha Icha Paradise _he again wasn't being perverted. It was warm, and possessed some type of deep soul healing power. The more she looked at it, the calmer she felt, despite her inner self's protests against it. Her gaze then turned to the arm, which was wrapped snugly and even a bit protectively and possessively around her, it was as if he were trying to tell her that she was his. Sakura couldn't breathe, she dare not look at his face, for she knew she'd find that look of adoration in his eye.

It was impossible.

Why would a jounin of his status look upon a simple Genin for adoration? She would rid herself of that thought quickly.

How naieve of her to think so!

While Sakura was pondering on current matters, Kakashi decided to make more subtle advances. He smiled; the only trace of his smile left to the outward world was his happy anime eye. This made the pink haired Genin a bit nervous. His hand trailed gently up her thigh, which made her emit a small gasp.

"Don't be afraid, Sakura…"

There was the voice. The voice that melted her heart. The voice which sounded seductive, provocative and yet seemed to reassuring, soft and kind. She swallowed hard as the hand reached the top of her thigh, and stopped all together. His touch was gentle, yet strong. It clearly showed that he wanted her to forget about Sasuke.

For this moment, Kakashi reveled in the thought. For it wasn't Sasuke who was there, touching her so tenderly. It wasn't Sasuke who could possibly stir these types of rushes within her body and soul. Yet again, he felt the toxic mixture churn within the pit of his stomach.

At this moment in time, he didn't even seem to care that the unyielding roots were already making steady impressions in his legs. The sensei didn't even feel the pain. His whole body had been numbed by her, as was his heart.

As she stared at his lone hand upon her thigh, something within her finally felt the need to ask. She wanted to know any possible answer to her desired questions concerning the recent actions of her instructor.

"What the heck is this about? Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, her voice seeming very shaky, weak and distant. Hardly the commanding tone she had used earlier when telling him not to step on Sasuke.

"What is what about?" The Copy Ninja asked, seeming innocent enough.

Sakura knew better.

"Saying all of those things to me earlier and leaving like that. Then you kissed me and said that my life wasn't all about Sasuke. Now this. What's going on? What's it all about?" She asked, green orbs looking at him, shining with a twisted brilliance of confusion and something else that no one could really place.

He looked back at her with a happy expression, which confused her.

"Huh?"

Suddenly the hand from her thigh was absent, and gently caressing the back of her head, being sure to entangle itself within the soft pink locks. This happened within a split second, giving Sakura no time to conceive what was going on.

Her head was guided down slowly, giving her the option to pull away if she didn't want this to happen, but she didn't move. She didn't want to either. She just let him show her what was about to unfold.

She felt their lips brush yet again, the lingering feeling of fabric pressed against flesh. The tingling feeling crept back to Sakura once more, and she began to recall their escapade from earlier. The pink haired Genin felt the same warm rush of feelings come back to her heart as her eyes fluttered shut, unfamiliar feelings settling within her. Blush was more prominent on her cheeks now as the kiss was present and she couldn't hold her feelings back as she let out a small moan against Kakashi's lips, sealed within the fabric of the mask.

Inwardly, the jounin smiled to himself, for not even Sasuke's presence or thought in her mind could evoke such a victorious and angelic sound.

He paused, not wanting to release himself from her, but not wanting to linger any longer, remembering to handle the situation with gentility. He had to remember that Sakura was young and he would teach her with time.

The Copy Ninja slowly released his lips from hers by moving his head back and seeing the flush to her cheeks. The happy anime eye returned as Kakashi felt victorious in evoking those emotions and hearing her moan was just a bonus.

"That's what it was about."

**A/N: Well that was another chapter successfully completed. Wow, what a fanfic. This chapter ran a page over, hope you all liked it. Please leave reviews so I can finish this piece. Thanks for all of the support!**


	4. Lesson 4: to Reconsider

**A/N: Seems like its going fast, it's really not. Going to explain things in this chapter. This will be a Kakashi-eccentric chapter.**

**Please review.**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

**Lesson 4: To Reconsider**

'_It seems wrong, in a sense. Doesn't it? But it all has reasoning behind it.'_

Kakashi pondered to himself as he slowly turned the page of his _Icha Icha Paradise _book as he sat in the middle of the floor, dressed down for the day. He was clad in his black shirt and pants with no wrappings present.

The silver haired sensei sat in silence and ran over his actions within the last few days. He held mixed feelings about them.

His first task at hand was to confuse Sakura by testing her childish love for Sasuke. The sensei decided to mess with her mentality, as he did with his other students. The pink haired Genin couldn't see through his deceptions, but at the same time he let his jealousy of Sasuke override him.

However, it did manage to keep her mind in confusion.

That was the tactic, to make her ponder about Sasuke and question her love for the stoic Genin. He wanted her to think that it was some sort of puppy love and teach her that even in love, you must learn to make a choice. When two love you, who will you chose?

At least, this way they would become closer as friends.

By questioning her love for Sasuke, she would also see that she should focus more on the task at hand: to become a Shinobi.

He thought that, perhaps her mind would be more on task once she saw how much her sensei appreciated her, the she wouldn't rely so much on impressing Sasuke as she would on being a Shinobi.

'_This isn't working as well as I'd like.' _ Kakashi sighed as he flipped yet another page, reading and pondering at the same time.

Things had been rough for both teacher and student, but in the pit of his guts, Kakashi had a feeling about Sakura still. It confused and intrigued him. As he looked over the events of the past few training days, he began to think on a lot more then just his teaching tactics, but more over his personal feelings as well.

He had always been lonely…

The lone man sighed to himself.

He took a fondness of Team 7, especially for the fact that Naruto meant business before he could utter the word "start". That kind of attitude was one that he was looking for in someone who wanted to follow the Shinobi path. This team could actually be the type of team he was looking for.

The jounin sat in silence for what seemed like hours, indulging himself with the content of the book. Pondering for too long would stress the mind, so he decided not to think too hard on things for now.

After what seemed like a good hour of reading through his book, he leaned back lazily and bent his elbow behind his head, lifting the book above his head. Eye, moving, reading the content and pondering over his tactics to make Sakura a better Shinobi by getting her mind off of Sasuke.

Love and missions were two things not to be joined together. It could cause for complication.

Before the haze of sleep set in, Kakashi thought over his team and was glad that he finally had some students after so many years of failing immature children who could never get the hang of a simple concept such as team work. Sure, he was hard on them, but he wanted them to understand that the path to being a Shinobi was not an easy one.

Some of the team members, like Naruto had grown up in an interesting way. His goal was respect, and to be the best he could be, damn him to hell if he didn't go down trying. Sasuke, on the other hand, had what it took as far as physical attributes and fighting style went, but he let his emotions consume him and his mental stability was weak. He fed too much on the dark emotions within himself that had built up since the death of his clan.

Kakashi couldn't help but be reminded of an old friend during his teaching of Naruto. He reminded him so much of that name etched upon the memorial stone in the training field. That stone in which he visited every day. The name that reminded him of the very reason that he had the Sharingan Eye.

Uchiha Obito.

Even in looks, Naruto had reminded him of Obito.

But Sakura was different. Her chakra control was the best of the three. She would be a good medic-nin with the proper training. The girl lacked in mature mental structure, however, letting her childish love of Sasuke override her Shinobi training.

There had been many a time in which the sensei noticed that Sakura had said the wrong thing, upsetting Sasuke, to be, in turn, upset herself. The silver haired jounin sighed to himself.

Young people had too much drama.

In the recesses of his mind, he had wondered what Sakura had been thinking about him. Probably that he was just some pervert…

Perhaps Kakashi would lie off for a while, and see what the pink haired genin thinks after a while. He had gotten her confused, and now it was time to wait for the results. There was obviously some tension between her and the stoic genin as they were on their way home from training.

When he had glanced at her before, she held a look of confusion. The look that he had now became familiar with. The jounin had also noticed that she lay off the romantic commentary towards the black haired boy, and remained a bit more silent then normal.

The Copy Ninja felt himself succumb to the haze of sleep. His vision was getting blurry and he could feel his body tingling. The level of the book slowly dropped as he struggled to read the last page of the chapter before dozing off.

As the jounin finished the last chapter of the book, it slowly lowered and was sat gently on his face. The hand holding the book, draped across his chest as he lay there, in dead silence in the middle of the floor, forearm used as a pillow to prop his head up.

A dark eye closed slowly as a felt a warm sensation overcome him and fell into the deep trance that sleep had placed upon him.

The jounin had a lot to think about. Perhaps after a good sleep, he would formulate tasks for his next day of training with his new genin students.

**TBC**

**A/N: Wow that was short. The next chapter will be normal length. I just wanted to get things straight here about the KakaSaku in these chapters. Sorry about the length. **

**My theory (of many deep intertwined ones) of why Kakashi doesn't concentrate on Naruto. I think Naruto reminds him of Obito in some ways. I think after Obito's death, Kakashi felt a lot of guilt and remorse. It's hard to explain, but it does make sense. If you really want to know e-mail me.**

**Oh to Reviews:**

**Dark Kakashi: This story will last to the end of the Zabuza fight and then skip ahead after the two years that Naruto and Sakura were separated from Kakashi, by that time, Sakura will be 15 after the skip. It will take place on her 15th birthday.**

**Ohtori Akio: You guessed it right, Kakashi had reasoning for what he did. Actually, it was my cover-up for messing up the age and now trying to give justification as to why he hit on her this soon. :;;;;;**

**Mistress DragonFlame: See above. I justified most of his actions from previous chapters to make it seem like he felt that way. Part of it's true but to a small extent. I hope I'm doing a good job at trying to re-work it. From here until the skip, I have nothing but friendship planned. Thanks for sticking with me, though you're annoyed.**

**To Others: Thanks for your reviews. They mean a lot to me.**

**Please review and I'll update sooner!**


	5. Lesson 5: To Sacrifice

**A/N: Here I am with another chapter. But first, I am going to answer some reviews.**

**Sadistic Memory: Hmmm, nice idea. I'll keep that in mind.**

**Mistress DragonFlame: I will stick to the manga storyline until the skip, then it will veer off a bit.**

**Hiei's** **Shadow Tenshi: You're not the only one. I cried when they died. It was heartwarming and tragic at the same time. It showed that Zabuza was capable of human kindness and in a sense, opened a hidden door to his character. I've always like Zabuza, then again, I'mone for baddies.**

**ShyMoonlight: You know, I really don't know, but I estimate in the teens maybe twenty.**

**Others: Thank you for your reviews and helping to crack down the plagiarist. For those of you who don't know, this story was plagiarized by someone by the pen name of LovelyHenderson. If you see this author, please report them for stealing this story.**

**With that out of the way, please read and enjoy!**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**Lesson 5: To Sacrifice**

"_Mission, Find The Missing Pet, Accomplished."_

There they were, Team 7 back at the Hokage's to be assigned yet another D-Rank mission. As the old man read off a list of repetitive and otherwise boring chores, compared to what most ninja missions were Naruto protested, as usual, with the pink haired genin getting irritated at his complaining, which, eventually earned him a punch in the head by Kakashi.

As the Hokage began to explain the routine of how the missions went and the levels of A, B, C, and D rank, a lone eye went to that of a certain pink haired genin, and Kakashi began to ponder to himself for a while.

Did she really think that he was _that _bad? Knowing his luck, he had managed yet again to deter her, as he had done others in the past. Come to think of it…Why did he feel as if he should even get close to someone? He had never wanted to before. His survivor's guilt (1) always kicked in before he could even think twice about reconsidering someone's friendship.

He didn't want to come off as cruel, but simply as distant. The less people that got to know him, the better for his psyche. The jounin had always seemed to put some hex of death on anyone who wanted to be friends with him. Everyone he had ever known had let him down in some way.

So, what was so different about Sakura?

To tell the truth, he didn't really know…

"Are you listening?" Was the question that brought him out of his senses as he also heard Naruto's voice, ranting about what type of ramen he was going to eat for the day.

Kakashi sweat dropped to himself and put an arm behind his head. "I…I'm sorry."

As Naruto began to argue with Iruka and the Hokage yet again, Squad 7 were finally assigned an upper ranked mission, shocking the three members, minus the blonde, who was ecstatic that he was finally going to do some "real" ninja stuff.

As the Hokage introduced their client, an old man came sauntering through the door, chugging down the last of his beverage. Though as he came through the door, the insults came from his mouth, and the blonde became irritated when he figured out which "imbecile" he was referring to and lunged forward as Kakashi let out a sigh and grabbed the back his collar as the child below him flailed around.

"Wrong. No killing the old man you've been assigned to protect."

Things didn't get any better as they exited Konohagkure. Tazuna seemed to roll off even more insults at Naruto, especially after his boast of potentially being the new found Hokage, and his teacher had to yet again grab him by the collar and tell him the same sentence as before.

As the range of insults exploded from every which angle, Sakura looked at Kakashi and pondered to herself. The green eyed girl wondered what the events of their survival training was leading up to and couldn't help but to wonder what Kakashi's sentences were all about.

She looked back at Sasuke, with a look of confusion. For once, the kunoichi in training couldn't help but question her love for the stoic boy. Green eyes went back to the silver haired jounin, who was looking exasperated with the blonde and sighing to himself.

There was something about him that the pink haired genin couldn't place. The more she gazed at him, the more she began to notice the small things about the jounin that most people wouldn't normally notice.

The way the lighting seemed to amplify his silver hair, making it an array of different shades and tones, ranging from an almost pitch black, to an angelic white. She, like all of his other students in the past, had wondered what he had hidden beneath that mask of his and began to wonder the options and possibilities.

Maybe he was really good looking…

Sakura blushed to herself.

Had she just thought that about her teacher? She mentally slapped herself for thinking such a thing, but as her meadow gaze went back to the jounin, she found him interesting in a way.

Green eyes softened as she stood there, gazing at her sensei as they walked.

Then she could hear the sounds of chain echoing through her head. The pink haired girl swiftly turned to see her sensei caught off guard by an attack from two rouge ninja. Panic, worry and sorrow shot through her green gaze as she looked in fright upon her sensei being bound by the two ninja.

Eyes then widened in terror as she saw what she though to be her sensei being ripped to shreds by the chains.

"**Kakashi-sensei!**" The pink haired girl yelled, looking on to see nothing amongst the smoke as one thing struck her brain.

'_A ninja must see through deception…'_

'_Yeah, that's it.' _She thought. '_See through deception. He's not dead. He can't be dead.'_

The pink haired girl looked about her to see her team mates being attacked, as Sasuke ran in to battle against the two ninja. No doubt his skills were impressive. Sakura only wished that she could fight as well as Sasuke as the gnawing thought of Kakashi's possible death went through her mind for a split second before noticing that Tazuna was left unguarded.

'_Kakashi-sensei…' _The pink haired genin thought to herself as the vivid image of her teacher being torn to shreds ran through her mind, '_Gave his life to protect us…' _A determined flare crossed through her emerald eyes. '_I won't disappoint him! I'll protect Tazuna, even if I have to follow him!' _

The girl got in front of the old man. "**Stand back, sir!"**

Sakura gripped a kunai knife, ready to go down fighting when Sasuke appeared in front of her to take them on further.

"Huh?" Was the confused noise emitted from the girl. '_Sasuke's…protecting me?'_

Then, in a flash, the two ninja were clothes-lined by Kakashi. The dark haired boy looked just as surprised as Sakura did.

'_Kakashi-sensei…You're alive.' _The green eyed girl's face lit up with happiness and relief, upon Naruto noting that he used the Replacement Jutsu to escape.

'_I'm so glad you're alright, Kakashi-sensei.' _Sakura smiled.

Emerald eyes looked upon her sensei, who was standing there, straight and tall, holding his enemies with the pride of a hawk that had just snatched an unsuspecting fish from the water.

'_Kakashi-sensei…You saved our lives…You really are...'_

Her thoughts were cut off by her sensei's words, questioning Tazuna's motives now that he had made an intelligent observation of who the shinobi's true targets were. The jounin had also noted that, due to that attack, this mission was far beyond that of ninja of their level.

A look of worry crossed Sakura's face. If that particular incident happened once, it was sure to happen again. This specific type of mission was out of her league, out of their league and intuition told her that they should turn back.

There was no way that low-level ninja like them could carry out a task like that. She could barely protect Tazuna from that rouge ninja, much less be prepared to face other ninja who could possibly be of the jounin level.

She pondered to herself…

That would be like them, fighting a team of nothing but Kakashi.

She couldn't even handle him in training, and he was just playing around with them. Sakura could only imagine what it would have been like to fight him going at full force.

She had faith in him, no doubt he would have done more then just shoved his fingers in Naruto's butt. Her sensei has the potential to kill them all, and perhaps Sakura was one of the few people to see that factor.

No matter how much of a porn reading, slacker Kakashi was, she could see a glimpse of the true potential of the jounin at the few times he had been serious and even through his words of advice.

"This…could be troublesome." The girl heard her sensei mutter as she looked over to see what they should do now.

They were far into the mission, and she doubted that they even could turn back now.

Then something completely random and self sacrificing came from Naruto's direction. He had stabbed himself in his wound to drain the poison, earning a look of shock from the entire team, even Tazuna seemed shocked at his rash, yet bold move.

A move that he later regretted once Kakashi had noted that he may bleed to death now that had had inflicted that wound.

Naruto, of course, flailed around in panic as the pink haired genin reminded him that he needed to stay still or he would loose more blood then he already was loosing.

As the blonde settled down, their sensei told him to let him see his hand. Naruto handed the injured limb over to see if Kakashi could assess the wound.

As the silver haired sensei took his hand, a serious and contemplative look passed over his features, and upon noticing this, the blonde began to feel uneasy and a little worried.

'_Kakashi-sensei looks so serious. I hope I'm not going to die…' _the child thought to himself for about five minutes, before finally speaking to his teacher.

"Um, you're scaring me. Why do you look so serious? Am I going to be alright?" He asked, a nervous tone laced his voice.

"You should be fine." Kakashi noted, after pondering to himself.

Sakura noticed the look on her sensei's face and wondered to herself what exactly he was thinking while bandaging Naruto's hand.

The sunlight danced in Kakashi's hair, playing with the shades and hues of gray. The shimmer danced around within the silky threads as he arose.

Green eyes stood happily on his form, and wondered if he was pleased with the way she was willing to sacrifice herself to save Tazuna and her friends, and to follow him faithfully to the world beyond this one.

Though now she's glad that she didn't.

**TBC**

**Notes: **

**1. Survivor's Guilt: The death of loved ones often leave the survivor thinking, "Why was I spared? I should have died too." An immense amount of guilt is associated with surviving when all your loved ones are gone. Sufferers of survivor's guilt are often unable to form close personal relationships, fearing that feelings for anyone new is a betrayal to those who passed, or fearing that they too will die. The survivor may also feel he does not deserve to be happy and as punishment would avoid a relationship which would mitigate his feelings of guilt and pain. **

**A/N: This chapter is not beta read. I'm working on beta reading something at the moment, so I am posting this chapter as what it is. Forgive me for the bad grammar in parts. It'll be beta read in a couple of days. Sorry for not posting this earlier. I was dealing with a plagiarist known as LovelyHenderson. If she/he is not taken down, expect this chapter to be under their name as well.**

**sigh What can I say? I'll keep posting no matter who steals from me. I've been plagiarized 10 times now, what more could it hurt? I just hope I don't get accused to being a plagiarist by someone who read LovelyHenderson's work before mine and didn't read the reviews.**

**Guess I'm being pretty nonchalant about the whole ordeal… (Gee I remind myself of Kakashi sometimes. Maybe that's why I like him. We're so alike. I do think I handled the situation well, despite my hatred of plagairism.)**

**Ah, anyway, please review and don't forget to check out my other stories. I have two other KakaSaku works.**


	6. Lesson 6: To Keep Changing Within the Sh

**A/N: Here is another chapter, but first to answer some reviews:**

**The PeaceMaker: Call me what you wish, but I do not steal stories. I'm very busy and I have 79 stories under my screen name. I'm neither Male of Masashi Kishimoto, so it's obvious I don't own characters. Many authors do not write disclaimers as they are boring, non-informative and in Shikamaru's words "a hassle". People who have never been plagiarized don't know how it feels, and if you criticize me for not putting a disclaimer up, and then do it to other authors as well.**

**Not meaning to be offensive, but I've put up with a lot of crap lately and I can only be pushed so far. I don't like you saying I'm no better then a plagiarist because I forgot to write a disclaimer. There are other authors who do the same thing and we are all better then thieves.**

**About Sakura's catch phrase, I knew that, I just choose to write little fan Japanese.**

**Sakura'sstuckinalovetriangle: That happened, I just added KakaSaku hints to it, if you choose to put it that way.**

**Hiei's Shadow Tenshi: I don't mind if you send it to me. In fact, go ahead; I'd love it if you did. I love Evanescence and Haku and Zabuza are definitely my favorite minor characters. I agree with you, Zabuza wasn't nearly as evil as he was portrayed as, he was, like Kakashi, following the path of being a Shinobi and what he said held truth it, about a ninja being a tool and a warrior. Come to think of it, Kakashi agreed with him when he compared himself to being a warrior.**

**Shikabane-Mai****- I'm not sure. I think it's just deleted from as you would delete a document of information, and thanks for the review.**

**Others: Thank you for your kind reviews.**

**On to the story…**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

**Chapter 6: To Keep Changing Within the Shadows**

'_Wow, this is some fog. I can barely see a thing.'_

There was a substantial, dense fog which hung around the tiny wooden boat as it floated silently through the murky waters to its destination. The bodies in the boat remained unvoiced for a while, all eyes looking around the scenery for any sign of potential attack from any more mist ninja.

Upon looking on the scenery, a single eye decided to check out some of the "other" scenery lurking within the boat. The pink haired genin sat near the side of the boat, slightly positioned behind Naruto, leaning against the side of the boat with one leg propped up.

During the interval of silence, green orbs looked to her sensei's direction, to notice that he was staring at her. The meadow eyes softened upon reaching contact with the jounin's. An almost inconspicuous blush crept to her cheeks and she allowed herself to give him a kind smile.

A happy anime eye was produced as aftermath. Sakura was so contented that her sensei was alright after her near heart attack pertaining to the rouge ninja a few minutes ago. There had been several feelings rushing through her heart as the fleeting thought of her sensei's death. Now that she had thought about it, she had put her life on the line, assuming that he was departed and wanting to follow him to that place.

But why had the pink haired genin made that verdict?

It seems that she had grown closer to Kakashi-sensei.

It is within the human nature to have semi-suicidal tendencies after the death of a loved one. It is also said that after you lose someone close to you that you lose a part of yourself that can never be replaced and that you will always harbor an empty space in your soul.

After that specific moment in time, in which Sakura thought that the jounin was dead, a sharp tear went through her heart, so savagely inflicted that she had wanted to grab her chest and double over in pain. As she stood there, those infamous sentences ran through her head.

"_I can't be easy on you, but I can show you that there is more to life then Sasuke."_

She began to wonder to herself what exactly made her want to risk her life for someone that seemed as if they were almost a complete foreigner. Was it because of what he had said to her back in survival training? Or could it be what he had done?

It still bemused her, when she thought about it.

As she continued to stare, she noticed how Kakashi held a mysterious heir about him when his body was set against the fog. The cloudy liquid softening his features against the misty background of the fog-infested lake as his glance was case back to Tazuna, the two engaging in conversation.

The fog seemed to play off of his silver hair, the shades being a little darker, seeming to blend together in perfect harmony as if he were a pastel figure in an artwork or oil paining.

The shadows of the dim lighting, playing with the tones of his skin and clothes, bringing out a more dark and mysterious heir.

In this light, his figure seemed more melancholy and dark, whereas in the light he seemed like a very different person indeed.

It was funny how the different types of light seemed to play off of what type of figure he was portrayed as. It seemed that Kakashi was a very prolific man.

Her teacher had so many depths to him, and almost seemed schizophrenic at times because of his constant change of demeanor. After all, he did fail, and then pass them. At times, his decisions perplexed and irritated Sakura.

Kakashi's lone, unmasked eye looked back to Sakura, when he and Tazuna had finished their conversation, concerning the matters of Gato. The jounin had known the whole time that Sakura had been looking at him from the other side of the boat.

The jounin found that he had a lot to ponder on.

The current mission on hand had not been as easy as it had seemed and not only that, his client was well worth the hassle. This was not a C Rank mission; it had been the equivalent of a B Rank mission and within the clockwork confines of his mind he could only see it as being worse. The more information that Tazuna divulged about the ninja being after him, the more complicated things were getting.

He had to force Squad 7 to move on, and hope that their survival training constituted as sufficient enough to face the tasks ahead. It seemed that his student's paths to being shinobi were skipping ahead to hard trials.

No matter if the doppelganger was speaking to gain time for the Sharingan to activate and copy his technique, he had meant every word. There had been too many times in the past in which Kakashi had made some imprudent mistakes which had caused innocents and team mates alike to lose their lives.

The culpability he had felt was almost unbearable to live with, and as a result he would never get close to anyone…

His eye looked to the hull of the boat; a painful sorrow dulled his lone eye as he sat in silence, waiting for the correct time to be out of reach enough as to not be found out.

Across the boat, Sakura could feel a certain wretchedness seeping from the mostly black clad figure from the other side of the boat and wondered what he was thinking about. Sasuke and Naruto were too busy paying attention to their own needs to notice Kakashi, sitting morbidly at the conflicting end of the boat. He looked so sad…

The girl felt a small prang in her heart that she couldn't quite place the reason why. Over the amount of time it took to go from survival training to their first mission, the pink haired girl seemed to develop some kind of small feelings for her instructor.

She wasn't sure about what type of feelings they were, but she had plenty of time to ponder over it. When she came to terms on what to do, she would try and gather her courage to speak to her sensei.

Green eyes looked to her foot stretched out to the other side of the boat. Sakura sighed to herself.

'_How can I tell Kakashi-sensei about what I feel?' _She thought to herself. _'We haven't known each other for very long…Even so; he doesn't talk much to others, does he? If I told him, he might just laugh at me, or tell me to get lost or something…'_

The girl glanced back over to him.

'_Oh, what am I going to do? I'm afraid to tell him…I mean, I try to tell Sasuke and he…' _Green orbs glassed over with a thin layer of unshed tears as she cast the stoic boy a saddened gaze before turning back to her sensei, who was keeping an eye out for any threats through the mist.

'_I don't want to be turned down, or made fun of for something I truly feel.'_

'_You're annoying…_

_Annoying…_

_Annoying…'_

The thought raced through her head as she recalled the sharp stab received from Sasuke that day.

It wasn't the only stab that she had received from the dark haired boy.

Sakura shivered a bit as the small boat was traveling through a tunnel. Darkness shrouded everyone on board. It was a bit colder in the shade, her body had been covered in dense mist from their trip and her skin held a thin layer of condensation, being cooled in the shade caused her to tremble a bit in the darkness.

Though she was in the presence of others, she felt cold and alone.

Everyone sat in complete silence as the boat traveled through the tunnel.

The pink haired girl could see what little light was shining through bouncing off of the figures in the boat, creating silver silhouettes in the darkness.

Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation overcome her when the boat reached the end of the tunnel.

"WOW!" The girl heard Naruto yell as the bright blue sea was set out before them.

Sakura looked around her to see the bright sea of blue, the sunlight bouncing off of the water, making it glisten with the brilliance of a thousand crystals. She smiled to herself, feeling the warm rays of the sun heating up the chill of her body.

She looked behind her to see Kakashi, who was also looking around at his environs, taking in the vast waters of the sea in all of their glory.

The boat finally pulled up to the dock as they all exited the boat, Tazuna first, then Kakashi and Naruto. The pink haired genin steadied herself to step off of the boat and looked up to see a hand virtually in her face. She looked up to see that the extremity was attached to Kakashi.

"Need a hand, Sakura?" The silver haired jounin asked, producing his happy anime eye as the golden sunlight bounced off of his form and caused his hair to shimmer against the blue sky, playing with the shades and tints of gray.

She flushed a slight pink and allowed a small giggle to escape her lips. The girl had never had anyone of the opposite gender make such a gentlemanly gesture to her.

"S-Sure." Sakura replied innocently as her small hand was gently placed in his.

His large hand gently clasped around hers as Sakura felt a tingly sensation within the pit of her stomach as their appendages touched. Kakashi's touch was so tepid and tender. It wasn't the same type of warm as the sun's rays; it was an entirely different feeling.

This tenderness radiated from his form, filling her body with calming ambiance. The flush on her cheeks deepen as he pulled her up, his pull physically powerful and gentle, reassuring that she wouldn't fall.

She looked at his face…

There was something about it that couldn't be placed. That look in his eye. It seemed so recognizable.

The two of them stood there, gazing at each other for a moment stationary in time. They were still hand-in-hand as they stood there. Sakura smiled at him, and he returned her smile with his usual response of a happy anime eye.

She felt a wave of calm rush over her as she gazed into her teacher's face. To anyone else, it would seem that his idiom was the same as usual, but to her it was quite different then before. It held calm about it that she hadn't noticed before.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." She complimented.

"You're welcome, Sakura."

There was another silence as she could feel them both being stared at by three pairs of eyes.

"Oh." Kakashi opened his eye, noticing everyone was finding him a sight and let go of Sakura's hand. "Sorry about that. I spaced out."

The girl slowly let go of her sensei's hand, not really wanting to, for reasons that were still unknown, even to her. Sakura didn't want the feelings or the touch to abscond her, but as he let go to turn and begin walking away with the others, she felt a cold sensation bring her body back into the haze of reality. Green orbs looked to her hand, then looked back up to see everyone walking away, she then followed behind, her mind still reliving that warm feeling and somehow, wishing that the moment would have lasted a bit longer.

She didn't even seem to mind that Sasuke was one of the people staring at her.

**TBC**

**A/N: Here we go. Another chapter completed. Please review and I hope you enjoy!**


	7. Lesson 7: To Face Hardships

**A/N: Sorry for being late. I was gone all weekend and didn't have time to type. Thanks for all of your reviews!**

**NOTE: If I don't update on Monday, keep checking throughout the week. I guarantee an update that week.**

**ALSO: I highly recommend the fanfic Misunderstandings by Hinoto Nobukaze. It's the best KakaSaku fanfic I've ever read and if you like Lessons in Shinobi Love, I think you'll love this fic. Now, on with the show!**

**II.**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**Lesson 7: To Face Hardships**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

**II.**

"_Shinobi who have the Sharingan Eye…Have mastered a form of ocular ninjutsu. It enables them to penetrate and see behind any illusion of spell and reflect the power of the magic they penetrate back on those who cast them. A Mirror Wheel, or Sharingan Eye is one of several types used by the masters."_

Sakura turned her head to gaze at her sensei's mismatched eyes in awe. She never would have guessed that her sensei was capable of such a powerful skill, though part of her had expected to less from someone as powerful as Kakashi-sensei. After all, he was a jounin, an elite ninja, and there was no one else that she would rather have taken her under their wing then him.

Green orbs stared with anticipation as she gazed upon the new battle laid before her and the rest of the squad. There, their new opponent stood, high up in the treetops above, feet planted on that oversized sword of his. He didn't say much, simply gazed at those below him, more preferably Kakashi.

Meadow eyes also looked to her sensei, who stood tall and remained alert to his surroundings.

" When I was an assassin for the Kirigakure, I possessed the usual bingo book of enemies. It had quite the extensive write up on you. Including a mention of your impressive record. The man who penetrated and copied over 1,000 different techniques…Kakashi, the mirror Ninja."

Confusion lit through green eyes as they locked onto the figure of her sensei. "But…Kakashi-sensei is just…He and old man Hokage are…"

She stood there in a state of confusion as she thought to herself. _'Are they really that powerful?' _

After standing there a few moments, she assumed the Manji Formation with Sasuke and Naruto as their enemy seemed to disappear within a shroud of heavy mist. She stood to the left of Tazuna, clutching her kunai knife.

They caught sight of him after a long moment of silence. He seemed to be standing atop of the water, striking a battle pose, with one arm straight up into the air, most likely to perform another jutsu.

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. Zabuza was standing a top of the water. She blinked, unsure of what exactly to think of someone who seemed to possess an ability that was notable of the events of the Bible.

In the back of her mind, she had to keep her cool. This was the enemy and she would protect Tazuna, as she was instructed to do.

The group became overcome with the heavy fog-like mist once more and the enemy was yet again hidden from view, allowing them to have the upper hand. Sakura glanced to her sensei, who was preparing to make his attack. She could feel a heavy wave of chakra emitted from her sensei's being. All eyes seemed to be locked on his body.

The pink haired genin tried to stabilize herself against the intense aura that he was putting off. The very presence seemed to feed off of her mentality, grinding on the threads of her sanity. She wondered if anyone else could feel it and she soon found out her answer as she looked to Sasuke, who had a look of utter dismay and dare she admit it, a frantic state of insanity on his face as he trembled under the weight of the chakra.

His unsteady hand clutched the kunai knife, inching it closer to his chest. A worried expression washed over her face as she witnessed the effects of that type of energy evoked on someone who couldn't handle it as well as her.

"Sasuke!" She blinked as she heard Kakashi talk to him.

"Calm down. Even if he gets me, I'll still protect you. I will never let my comrades die."

He sounded so self-righteous when he said things like that. Sakura put full trust in her sensei, especially after he scared her like that while facing those rouge mist ninja earlier.

"I wouldn't bet on that." The pink haired kunoichi heard Zabuza's voice so close that she could swear he was right behind her. Eyes widened upon thinking that thought and putting together the fact that he had hidden himself amongst the mist for quite sometime. Looking behind her, almost in perfect synchronization with the other team members, she could see the tall man, wielding his gigantic sword, his body placed in-between the three of them and their client, breaking and Manji Formation and leaving them all susceptible to a lethal attack.

"Game over."

Suddenly, there was what seemed like a bust of energy out of nowhere, and she felt herself flying forward with force, as if someone shoved her violently. As if by natural reaction, she turned around to see what had done that and saw that it was Kakashi, stabbing Zabuza in the abdomen with a kunai knife. There was a sound of liquid hitting the ground in a steady stream, much to fast to be blood. It seemed like water, and upon noticing it, it **was** water.

That meant…

It was a clone, a doppelganger.

The **real **Zabuza was around there somewhere, still hidden in the mist…But where?

Meadow eyes widened upon seeing yet **another **Zabuza behind her sensei, and she heard Naruto yell to the silver haired jounin that he was behind him. Sakura was glad that someone had, because the move was so swift that she was left speechless.

And what was about to come would further render her speechless.

The enemy had chopped her sensei in half yet again, earning a scream from the pink haired girl. She had more faith in him, however. He surely wasn't dead this time.

And her assumptions where right.

She was splashed with water as the clone transformed back into its original state: water.

The silver haired jounin appeared behind Zabuza. They were almost like two children, when she thought about it. _"I'll get behind you!" "No, I'll get behind you!" _Sakura hoped that it would be the last time anyone got behind anyone. Perhaps Kakashi would deliver the final strike and end their encounter.

But it didn't seem that simple.

"Hee hee!" Sakura giggled with glee at the fact that Kakashi got the upper hand, but her giggling was soon silenced as Zabuza was not behind Kakashi yet again. The pink haired genin stifled an unamused look, seeing as they had just done it again.

The fight of who was behind who soon came to a stop, as Zabuza made his attack, swinging his enormous sword at her sensei, the intelligent Copy Ninja crouching down to dodge the attack, sending his opponent forward, but he soon changed directions, using his weapon to stop his body from going backwards and propel himself forward to kick the silver haired jounin, causing him to fly into the water.

'_Did Kakashi-sensei just fly all that way?' _The green eyed girl blinked, green eyes staring in astonishment. After all, it had been the first time Kakashi was touched in both battles.

After a few minutes her teacher didn't emerge, when he did, he came up slowly, as if he had some weights attached to his body, trying to drag him down. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought. Why would he be struggling to get up when he only got wet?

Then she found out why.

Suddenly, he was encased in watery sphere. Zabuza had used a Water Encasement Jutsu. Kakashi was just as surprised as she was. No one saw it coming, she didn't even think the Sharingan saw it coming.

The water produced yet another water clone, and it jumped in front of the rest of the team and rushed forward with great force, kicking Naruto and making him fly back, knocking off his Leaf headband.

Her meadow eyes looked back on her comrade with concern. The blonde slowly got up and a moment of silence passed as he bum rushed the water doppelganger.

"Fool!" She could hear her sensei shouting from within his watery entrapment.

"Naruto! What are you thinking?" The pink haired kunoichi yelled.

Upon noticing that the bum rush didn't do anything but earn Naruto another kick to the face, Sakura decided to give him a piece of her mind. "What are you thinking? Tackling him all by yourself! You think you're so cool, but you're just a junior ninja like us!"

Who did Naruto think he was? Not even Kakashi-sensei could take him on, what made him think that he could do any better? After all, Kakashi was a jounin and they were, like she had told Naruto, only genin.

Confusion struck through the meadows of her eyes as she noted that Naruto only charged him to get back his headband. She blinked in confusion.

"What's the matter with you? I told you to run." She turned swiftly, pink tresses hitting her face as she did. The location of the voice was from within its watery prison. "It's over…It was over the second he caught me!" It was her sensei. "You have to do your duty. Keep that in mind. We're here to protect Mr. Tazuna!"

She blinked and worry crossed her expression. Sakura couldn't just go and leave Tazuna to follow the Copy Ninja, but she couldn't leave Kakashi back there to be killed by Zabuza. A flicker of sorrow crossed her mind as something the Copy Ninja had told her before ran through her mind.

'_The day could come…when one of you may be taken hostage and you are forced to make a choice. When you are on a mission, your lives will always be on the line.'_

The girl looked to Tazuna, as if he could possibly have the answer to her question. The old man remained silent for a while and seemed to be regretting something silent and harbored deep inside.

He looked up and finally spoke. "Let's face the facts. I got us into this mess by lying. I've had a real long life, and it would be wrong to let you four kids die trying to save me. So go ahead and give this fight everything you've got!"

**TBC**

**A/N: Probably a bit boring, but there will be some chapters like it that are just a recap of things that had happened. It makes it realistic, after all and chronologically correct. Not much romance here, and probably not in the next chapter either, but there will be soon. **

**Sorry for the lateness of the chapter, I had job interviews today and I got it half typed and just now typed the rest. Its un-beta read, but I got it posted. It's probably a little short, but that's because I'm short on time today. The next one will be normal length.**

**Please review me!**


	8. Lesson 8: To Win and Lose

**A/N: I've been off on updating. Sorry about that, I just dread the sheer re-capping of the manga. I've been using a mixture of manga and anime (from what I remember) but mostly manga. It's just a drag to write things less original then what my mind works up. So this part will drag on until I get on to another resting point, probably when they stay at Tazuna's daughter's house.**

**Well, enjoy!**

**II. **

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**Lesson 8: To Win and Lose**

**II.**

Sakura watched as the two remaining males on her team stepped up to battle against Zabuza. They all stood there, frozen in silence before a conversation began to take place.

Their enemy began to chuckle at their efforts.

"Apparently, you don't care if you'll live to get any older."

"**What!**" Of course, leave it up to Naruto to pop off.

The pink haired genin produced an irritated glare towards her teammate.

His answer, however, didn't stop Zabuza from talking.

"Playing ninja like it's a child's game…I, however…By the time I was your age, had already dyed these hands in my enemies' blood."

Meadow eyes widened and a realization had hit all three members of squad 7, and she began to feel a bit of fear course through her veins, turning her blood degrees cooler.

"The Demon, Zabuza." She could hear the distant voice of her sensei, from inside his watery imprisonment.

"It would seem my reputation has preceded me."

"Long ago…In the Village Hidden in the Mist, also known as "_The Village of The Bloody Mist_", the final step towards becoming a full-fledged ninja was the most inhumanly difficult test imaginable." Kakashi explained.

"So…You've heard about our little graduation exercise."

"Graduation exercise?" Naruto seemed confused.

Sakura was wondering the same thing. What type of Graduation exercise were they talking about? Whatever it was, Kakashi-sensei certainly had a serious expression on his face.

"Wh-what graduation exercise?" The blue eyed child asked again and only received a chuckle in return.

"It's a kind of "killing spree" among classmates."

Shocked faces lit up around the area like stars brightening up a night sky as surprise and fear spread like an infectious disease.

"Students who'd been friends, eating from the same dish, as undergrads were divided into pairs who would be forced to fight each other. Think of it. Comrades who had trained together, lived together, shared each other's hopes and dreams…"

The green eyed girl brought her balled fists to her chin. "That's terrible……"

"Ten years ago, the elders of The Village Hidden in the Mist were forced to enact a sweeping reform of their barbaric graduation ritual. Because of the appearance during the previous year of a human fiend who made reform essential." She could hear her sensei explain further.

"What kind of reform?" Sakura asked, she got no response from Zabuza. "What are you talking about? What did the fiend you're talking about do?" She turned to the white haired jounin, hoping that he would answer her question.

"Without a moment's hesitation. Without any hint of a qualm, a boy who hadn't even yet qualified as a ninja butchered over a hundred members of that year's graduating class."

"Ah, yes. Good times…I used to have such fun." Their reminiscing enemy seemed overjoyed in his own wicked actions.

Then, out of nowhere, he lunged towards the remaining members of squad 7 and landed a hit in on Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" the pink haired girl yelled out, fearing for her team mate.

Kakashi was helpless to do nothing but watch in silence and hope that his students would get out of this situation alive. He had promised earlier to not let his team mates die before his eyes. He didn't want to make that foolish mistake.

It would be all the more hurtful to add guilt onto his already growing syndrome.

All eyes were on Naruto and Sasuke as they faced off against the Mist Ninja. Naruto's Doppelgangers all piled a top of Zabuza, but he simply threw them all back with his enormous sword. The blonde then threw something to Sasuke. It was a Demon Wind Shuriken.

"Windmill of Shadows!" The stoic one yelled as he jumped into the air.

"Shuriken are useless against me!" Their enemy warned as the giant blades came spiraling towards his clone, but took a different direction and headed straight toward the original. "At least this time you've had the sense to zero in on my form."

Zabuza caught the shuriken in his hand, calling Sasuke an amateur, but then noticed that there was a second shuriken in the shadow of the first.

' _There was a second shuriken in his blind spot.' _ Sakura almost mimicked Zabuza's sentence in her mind.

The Mist ninja simply jumped over it. "Still an amateur." The short haired man muttered.

'_He dodged it!' _ Surprise lit up through green eyes.

The Shadow Shuriken flew a distance, then turned into another Naruto, who threw a kunai knife, enough to distract the real Zabuza into releasing the water imprisonment spell. The shuriken in which the real body was holding was blocked by a gloved hand.

Green eyes lit up with hope and happiness. "Kakashi-sensei!"

The silver haired jounin complimented the blonde and he and Zabuza exchanged a few words, before jumping back and going into a series of hand signs as the water around them began to twist and swirl into long, serpent-like stalks with dragon's heads at the peak of each of the stalks.

"Water Style! Water Dragon Missile!"

The dragon's clashed together, sending waves of water outwards and into the group of people. The pink haired genin reclaimed her post as body guard of Tazuna, helping block him from the waves.

'_What the! Is this Ninjutsu?' _She wondered to herself as the fight continued.

The two opponents again went into a series of hand signs, as completed were in the same post.

"Through them all." Kakashi said, out of nowhere.

Sakura was confused. What was happening? And why did her sensei say a sentence fragment out of nowhere? That was random, not to mention confusing.

"Got that sickeningly evil look in his eye…right?"

The green eyed girl blinked, then her eyes widened in realization. Can her sensei read minds? The would certainly explain why he asked Naruto, Sasuke and her if they were doubting the power of the Hokage earlier.

"Water Style! Giant Water Fall!"

In an instant, more water came flooding Sakura's way as the enemy was washed up against a tree trunk.

"What? Can you see the future?" Zabuza asked.

"I forsee…Your death." Was his only reply as the enemy was seemingly attacked out of no where and fell to the ground before Kakashi had the chance to finish him off himself.

"Your prediction came true." A foreign voice replied with an heir of calm around it.

All eyes looked to the tree branch, where a long haired ninja wearing a mask was present. The ninja seemed young, and dressed in many shades of green. They were silently watching the events of the fight and Sakura wondered how long exactly they had been there.

All eyes went to Kakashi, who was checking the body for a pulse. He said not a word.

The mysterious voice broke the silence.

"Thank you for your help. I hope you don't mind my interfering, but I wanted the satisfaction of putting Zabuza out his misery myself."

"The mask is familiar…Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you a Shinobi Hunter from The Village Hidden in the Mist?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, aren't you the smart one?"

"A Shinobi Hunter?" Naruto asked, getting up from the ground.

"I am indeed, a member of the elite tracking until from The Village Hidden in the Mist. It is our responsibility and out art -- to hunt down and deal with the Rouges and the Outlaws."

Sakura noticed from a distance away that her sensei looked as if he were pondering something...

'_Judging by his size and the timbre of his voice…he couldn't be much older then Naruto or my other students…yet, he's already a full-fledged Shinobi Hunter!'_

But what?

'_He's not your average kid, that's for sure.'_

"**What's going on here? What are you?"** Naruto shouted as he pointed up to the figure.

"Relax Naruto, he's not an enemy." Kakashi said as he got up, a bit slower then usual. He must have been tired from the battle. Perhaps he used too much chakra.

"**That's not what I asked--! I mean…What I mean is…He killed Zabuza…Who wasn't exactly a pushover, but still got taken out by a guy who's only about my age! Like it was nothing! What, do we suck or something? What's up with that?"**

"Oh," Kakashi walked over to Naruto. "Well, you have my sympathy. I can see where a thing like that would be hard to accept." He sat a hand atop of the blonde's head. "But it's a fact you'll have to live with. This probably won't be the last time we run into a kid who's both younger then you and stronger then me."

The blue eyed child beneath the hand made an irritated face.

"Your battle is over for now…and the remains must be disposed of. Lest they give upsecrets to our foes. Well then, I must be off." The mysterious boy said, as he and the dead body disappeared within a jutsu.

Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate over the Sharingan Eye and sighed to himself. "Now! We still have to escort Mr. Tazuna the rest of his way home. Let's put our best feet forward."

In the back of his mind a tiny feeling told him that he would regret saying that.

" **Ha ha ha! **You poor kids must be exhausted But never mind. You can lick your wounds at my house." Tazuna laughed.

Suddenly there was a loud thump.

Everyone whirled around to see the silver haired jounin fall to the ground.

"What? Huh? What's happening?" Green eyes set on the fallen form and widened with concern and worry. "Kakashi-sensei!"

Thoughts ran through the pink haired girl's mind. She hoped that he wasn't hurt. Scenarios ran through her mind. Maybe he was hurt internally? Did he loose too much blood? Maybe he used too much chakra…Maybe using the Sharingan took a toll on him.

She hoped that it wasn't too serious.

'_I can't budge…I...Must have used the Sharingan Eye too much…' _Was the silver haired jounin's last thought before fading into darkness, but just as he did, he caught a glance of meadow green, shimmering with a kind concern.

**TBC**

**A/N: Wow, that was troublesome. Too much dialogue. Too much recapping. My hatred for the past two chapters burns with the intensity of a thousand suns, but I finally got them finished. Sorry about the late posting. The next chapters will come quickly and there will be more fluff between Kakashi and Sakura.**

**Please review!**


	9. Lesson 9: To Heal

**A/N: Here I am with another chapter of Lessons in Shinobi Love. I'm actually sort of on time this time. I wanted to wait a few days so reviewers wouldn't be behind.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

**Lesson 9: To Heal**

Upon approaching Tazuna's house, the four of them each helped carry the weary Kakashi in doors. They prepared a futon on the floor for him and attempted to make him feel as comfortable as possible.

While they men lay out the futon, and get the necessary equipment to set up, so the weary ninja could feel more comfortable and let his wounds heal, Sakura propped him up on the floor, a hand supporting his back and an arm around him.

"Are you alright, Kakashi-sensei?" Green eyes looked upon him with a cultured sorrow and worry for his well-being.

A weary dark eye was slowly produced as he turned his head to her. "I'll be alright, Sakura. I've just used a considerable amount of energy from activating the Sharingan."

A small hand reached for the heavy backpack on his shoulders. "Here, let me remove this heavy thing from your back, and then you can relax a little more. You won't have all that pressure on you. It wouldn't be good for your body to carry that extra baggage around."

"Thank you, Sakura…"

A small smile adorned pink lips.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, I'll take care of you."

"Hn?" Was the only sound to escape the jounin's masked face as his student removed the heavy bag from his shoulders, the weight being lifted.

The silver haired ninja sat there in the silent company of his comrade, feeling the warmth from her body and closed his eyes, leaning into her.

"Kakashi-sensei?" He heard a soft voice.

"Yes, Sakura?" An equally soft and weak voice asked.

"Do you feel faint?"

"A little, probably from blood loss. I need to stay warm. Do you think that you could stay close to me, until they have a bed prepared and share your body heat with me?" Kakashi asked.

A silent and shy nod was produced as the jounin wrapped an arm about the girl, hugging her close to absorb the warmth radiating from her form. As he lay there, awaiting Tazuna and the other two students of his to prepare the bed, he felt all of the same feelings from survival training resurface: the loneliness and need to be comforted.

He knew what he felt was wrong, and forced it to the back of his mind as the young girl below him tried her best to keep his body touching hers, occasionally glancing over to Naruto and Sasuke.

The blonde gave her a weird look.

She glared over her shoulder. "What are you looking at, Naruto?" Sakura asked in annoyance.

"What are you doing, Sakura?"

"I'm tending to Kakashi-sensei. He's feeling weak from blood loss, so I'm giving him body heat. If you'd quit being so lazy and hurry up with that futon, he wouldn't be cold, would he?"

Her team mate cast an annoyed look back as he walked off grumbling.

Soon he came back with Tazuna and Sasuke, and the three began to set up the bed, then, then four of them gently lifted Kakashi into the bed, setting him down gently. The pink haired girl grabbed the covers and gently pulled them over her sensei, giving him an 'it's going to be alright' look.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at Sakura, pondering over her recent actions.

'_Why is Sakura so close to Kakashi-sensei all of a sudden?' _Naruto thought to himself. _'What's up with that?'_

Sasuke said nothing, and sat on the floor.

A hand was sat on Naruto's shoulder, causing the blonde to slip out of his thoughts and look over to the one who placed it there.

It was Tazuna.

"You're friend's certainly playing the nurse over there." The old man commented, and then smiled. "Looks like the two of you will just have to lick each other's wounds then." Tazuna laughed and walked into the kitchen.

The two boys both cast annoyed looks at each other.

'_Lick Sasuke's wounds? NO WAY!' _ The blonde's mind protested.

'_He can be a loser on his own…' _ Sasuke thought.

The pink haired girl sat faithfully beside of her sensei, not really noticing the dirty look contest that was being held behind her. She gently fluffed Kakashi's pillow. "I hope you're comfortable now, Kakashi-sensei."

"Yes, I am. Thank you, Sakura." His usual happy eye was produced.

Viridian eyes narrowed as an annoyed look crossed the girl's face. She turned her head to see Naruto and Sasuke arguing. "**NARUTO**!" She yelled in her normal warning tone. "Can't you see that Kakashi-sensei is **_trying _**to sleep? "

"Me?" The blonde pointed to himself. "What about Sasuke?" The finger pointed back to the figure on the floor.

"You're the one who started it."

"Hmpf…Loser…" The dark eyed boy put his folded hands under his chin and remained quiet on the floor.

Naruto growled to himself and sat across from Sakura, at his sensei's right side.

Kakashi looked over towards the boy, and then back at Sakura, who was glaring at Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei needs rest. He can't get well with you screaming all of the time. We're _supposed_ to be helping him."

"Right." The blonde nodded. "You just tell me if you need anything. Anything at all Kakashi-sensei and I'll get it."

"Thank you Naruto, but I'm sure I can manage."

A moment of silence passed as Tazuna came back into the room and lay in the middle of the floor, breathing heavily from putting strain on his old muscles when he carried Kakashi back to his house.

Afterwards, footsteps were heard echoing on the wooden floor and a feminine voice was heard.

"Are you alright, sensei?" A dark haired woman stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

Kakashi looked over to the young woman. "No, but I should be in about a week."

"The Sharingan Eye is an incredible power…" Sakura said. "But doesn't all the strain it puts on your body ever make you wonder if it's worth it?"

"This time you took down your strongest foe yet, so you can just relax now." Tazuna replied, wiping the sweat from his brow with a white towel.

"I can't get my mind off of that masked kid…" Sakura said.

"That mask is worn by the most elite and secret ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist. The Shinobi Hunters wear them. Their unit is codenamed 'The Undertaker Squad' because they dispose of corpses so thoroughly it was as if they never existed." Kakashi informed. "Even after death, a shinobi's corpse may yield up it's secrets, exposing the secrets of the skills it has mastered as well as retaining the aura of the chakras it was steeped in the ninja's native land…Even the ingredients of any drugs or potions that the body consumed may become an open book. In the same way, when I die, if an enemy were to take possession of my remains, the corpse would reveal all of the anatomical idiosyncrasies unique to possessors of the Sharingan Eye. In the worst case, the enemy might gain enough information to duplicate and master that power. Ninja corpses tell too many tales. Basically, shinobi hunters specialize in tracking down and eliminating rouge ninja and obliterating their remains…In order to protect the secrets of their home village from the rest of the world."

There was a pause.

"Silently and without a trace. That is how ninja leave the world."

"So, Zabuza's corpse will be dismembered and destroyed? That's so creepy!" Sakura replied, thinking on what a fate that would be for herself if she had ever died in battle.

There was a long silence after Sakura's statement, as if everyone in the room were trying to grasp and think on the information divulged to them by Kakashi.

The meadows cast down a look at the now slumbering jounin in the bed at her side.

Given that information, Zabuza should be gone for good.

Perhaps she could rest easier and concentrate on her sensei's recovery and go back to thinking about the whole incident that happened at survival training.

She couldn't help but remember Kakashi's statement.

'_But I can teach you that there are more things to life then Sasuke…'_

Green eyes looked to her teacher and a small smile crossed her face.

He was peaceful when he slept. Something that she never saw often on his face. Usually he seemed serious, lazy or stone cold, but now he seemed kind of human.

'_Get well soon…Kakashi-sensei…'_

A slender hand reached up and small fingers threaded their way through tresses of silver, feeling the feathery texture between them as she ran her hand through his hair.

After a few petting motions, her hand trailed down his hair, down his headband and to the side of his face. It lingered for a while as meadows shown in content, then it was pulled away almost forcefully, as if the hand itself wanted to stay upon the small area of skin which shown itself as it sat quaintly back in her lap.

Sakura could feel herself being stared at and twitched with annoyance.

As expected…

It was Naruto.

"What are you looking at, Naruto?"

"…" The child gave no answer, but kept giving her a scrutinizing gaze.

A pink eyebrow was arched.

A moment of silence was passed.

"Look, whatever Naruto." She huffed and turned her attention back to Kakashi's face.

Why couldn't she tear her gaze from him?

Why did she want to touch his face again?

Why did she feel so protected when he was near her?

Why did it feel so right, yet so wrong?

Or was it so wrong, yet so right?

Was Sakura attracted to her teacher? Or older men in general?

Viridian eyes glanced back at Sasuke, who also seemed to be watching her along with Naruto. She blinked.

What's gotten in to them? Was her concern for Kakashi **_that _**noticeable?

**TBC**

**A/N: Another chapter done. Sorry about the delays, I went Christmas shopping last week and was busy buying presents. sigh I need to be more prompt, I know. Bare with me, holidays tend to be a hassle on my updates.**

**There I go with my Shikamaru self again…**

**Ah well, please leave a nice review, believe it or not they DO encourage me to write more.**

**Oh, also go and check out my other stories. I have a new SakuKaka one out called Oh, Sensei. You guys might like it, but it's more of a mature fanfic, so please follow the warning.**


	10. Lesson 10: To Soothe

**A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry about the lack of updates. Went into a depression and recently pulled out. I'm going to try to double update or make this chapter longer. **

**Here's some more KakaSaku goodness.**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**Chapter 10: To Soothe**

When Naruto and Sasuke were out of the room, viridian eyes cast gaze to Kakashi, who was slumbering peacefully. Usually her sensei was very level headed, alert in battle and very incentive. He was always on the look out for any incoming danger, and though she could only see one eye (unless the Sharingan was in use) it was always clear and sharp, like an eagle's eye.

But now…

Now he looked so different.

He lay there eyes closed in a peaceful sleep.

A million thoughts ran through her head at the moment as her eyes were plastered to the figure. They scanned over the slumbering figure which lay on the ground, body cushioned by the futon.

'_Sleep well, Kakashi-sensei…I hope you can regain your strength and will be alright. I'd hate to think of what would happen if you had any complications…' _A sense of worry struck through the viridian gardens within the depths of her eyes.

Small hands reached up and took hold of the top of the covers and gently pulled them up around his shoulders. Green eyes looked down at him and a small smile graced pink lips.

A moment of silence passed as she watched him sleep, monitoring the gentle rise and fall of his chest and he slept. Sakura seemed to loose track of everything around her as her sight was locked on Kakashi.

A slender hand reached up over his face, casting a small shadow. The limb reaches up to his spiked hair, and she could feel the tips of the spikes against her flesh. Her orbs softened. How she wanted to run her hands through his hair.

After ten minutes of mental preparation, her hand slowly went into the forest of silver, feeling the silky texture of the strands. Sakura ran her hand through his tresses in a petting motion.

'_His hair is so soft…' _She thought to herself, but then her inner being protested. _'What are you doing! That's your teacher! Are you crazy? Have you lost it, Sakura!'_

The pink haired kunoichi blinked, lifting her hand slowly from his hair, but as she did Kakashi made a face that seemed to dig into the depths of her soul for some reason.

His visible brow made a 'U' shape, and he appeared a bit sorrowful. Feeling herself sadden, she placed her hand back into his hair.

'_Kakashi-sensei…'_

The girl looked up and saw that there was no one in the room. She scanned every inch of the room and found no form of life around. She was alone with him. It was just the two of them and the oxygen in the room.

Sakura stared at his face. He looked like he was going into a fitful sleep.

'_He looks so sad…' _The girl thought, putting a finger to her pink lips. _'You know, he's not **that **much older then me. There are a lot of couples out there who are 8 to 10 years apart…Argh! No way! Sasuke's my man! Remember, I went through all of this training to prove myself to him. I want to be a valuable member of the team and show him that I can be strong! But if that's so…Then why don't I feel as strongly about it as I did before?'_

Her hand went to the side of her sensei's face, caressing it lightly. _'What's wrong with me? Why can't I pull away! He's my teacher, and he's older then me, not to mention the fact that we could never…Why am I thinking about this! **I DON'T LOVE MY TEACHER!**'_

Kakashi relaxed from whatever fit he was having and let out a sigh.

"Hmm?" Sakura blinked.

She felt her hand grow cold and noticed that his head was turned away. The jounin winced and let out a pained and disgruntled noise. His eyebrow quivered and his visible eye clenched shut. The girl made a sympathetic face at her teacher and ran her hand through his hair.

"It's ok, Kakashi-sensei. I'm here…and I won't leave you, no matter what."

Sakura tried to hush him, running her hand through the silky tresses of his hair and trying to soothe him in his sleep. The jounin's head turned down ward and let out a small tremble.

"Kakashi-sensei…Oh please be alright."

As if acting on impulse, she leaned down and gave him an innocent kiss underneath his closed eye. The girl left her lips there for a while, until she realized what she had just done.

She kissed her teacher.

'_**ARGH! What are you doing, Sakura?**_**' **Her inner being screamed within the recesses of her mind. '_Ok, ok, calm down. It wasn't a direct kiss or anything, so it's not like you touched his lips or anything. That would just be wrong! I'd never…I respect him too much! It was just a calming kiss, like a mother would give a crying child. There was no feeling other then kindness in it…and no one saw, right?' _

Viridian orbs bounced across the room. She was in the clear. No one had been there.

Sakura looked back at Kakashi. He was now sound asleep. The sensei rolled back over and looked peaceful again.

After another silence, she heard a loud mouth and the pitter patter of sandals on hard wood floor.

It was Naruto.

The blonde came bolting into the room and sat down cross-legged by the bed, startling Sakura, making her snap her head up and look at him with a piercing glare.

"What? What did I do?" Naruto asked.

"Do you have to come in here recklessly like that!" She scolded. "You could have woke Kakashi-sensei up! He needs his rest!"

"Well, you should tone it down too. You're louder then me." Naruto bit back. "Besides, what was your head doing so close to his anyway?"

"What?" The pink haired girl almost breathed the word. "I was checking his temperature."

"Why are you being so friendly to Kakashi-sensei anyway? I thought you'd be hanging around with _Sasuke_."

"Kakashi-sensei needs me. He's hurt and someone has to look after him."

"Tazuna and Tsunami are around if anything bad happens to him, so why do you feel so obligated all of a sudden?"

"He's our teacher! We need him! I'm not going to goof off, because if he had complications and something bad happened, I wouldn't forgive myself." Her gaze hit the floor. "He risked his life to save us from Zabuza and if he hadn't have defeated him when he did…I hate to even think about it."

"Come on Sakura, he's a jounin, an elite ninja. He knew what he was doing and now Zabuza is gone so we don't really have to worry about it." Naruto advised, and then put his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner. "So let's just wait until he wakes up, alright?"

She nodded silently and took her hand from his hitai-ate. She had moved it there when Naruto came into the room, so she didn't look conspicuous.

The two sat there, in complete silence for about an hour before the blonde spoke up.

"Hey Sakura."

"What, Naruto?"

The blonde had a mischievous grin.

The kunoichi frowned. "Don't think about playing any jokes on Kakashi-sensei in his sleep. That's just wrong."

"Haven't you ever wondered what's behind his mask?" The blonde asked.

Sakura's face turned from angry to questioning as she blinked in confusion. "Yes, I have. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think about it. Now is the perfect time to see what he's hiding." Naruto leaned in close.

Green eyes looked to Kakashi's face as she put a finger to her lips and thought. _'Cha! You know you want to see what's under that mask! You've been dying to ever since you met him. Now he can't stop you! Go for it!'_

"You're right, but how do we go about it? I mean, won't he wake up?" She looked to her partner in crime.

"Are you kidding? He's sound asleep. We'll just take a look, and then pull his mask back up and he won't suspect a thing!"

"Well…Alright, but if he wakes up, it's your fault."

"What?...Oh, all right." Naruto agreed making a disgruntled face, which soon turned back into a malicious grin.

Sasuke and Tazuna walked into the room, sitting down on the ground quietly. "What are you two doing?"

"We're going to see what's under Kakashi-sensei's mask." Naruto said as he approached Kakashi. Sakura approached him from the other side and they both put their hands out, reaching for the cloth covering the jounin's face. The silver haired man seemed to go into a fitful sleep again. Both hands inched their way down…

Then, his visible eye shot open.

"**EEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!" **Naruto and Sakura screamed, putting their hands in front of their faces in surprise. Naruto fell on his back, and Sakura almost did, but caught herself with her hands.

'_ARGH! Why does he have to scare people like that? I knew this was a bad idea!' _Viridian orbs hardened, turning into jewels that cast a cold sheen over to Naruto, who was almost hyperventilating.

Tsunami walked into the room, seeing Kakashi awake. "Oh, Kakashi-sensei are you awake?"

"You idiot! Don't be such a klutz! We almost got to see what was under his mask!" Sakura scorned, leaning over Naruto with a clenched fist.

The jounin put a hand over his face, and then looked as if he were contemplating on something. He held his chin in his hand and didn't speak a word, causing everyone in the room to set their sights on him.

**TBC**

**A/N: I am SO sorry about not updating, but I am back and ready to write. The next chapter will come very soon! I hope I haven't lost anyone and I hope you're not angry or upset with me. Sorry I haven't been living up to my word, I'll try to keep it from now on.**

**Please review!**


	11. Lesson 11:To Mature

**A/N: Here I am with another update! I'm glad that everyone stuck behind me. Oh and as a note, please read my fanfic A Trick Gone Too Far it has the pairing KakaSaku in it. There is not KakaSaku yet, but there will be.**

**Also, check out Of Romance and Kunai Knives by Ohtori Akio and Beyond Your Control a joint fanfic by Ohtori Akio and I. It's the remade version of my old fanfic, Love Slave.**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**Lesson 11: To Mature**

Their sensei looked thoughtful for a moment, the whole room stood in dead silence.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto spoke up.

"Hmm…Of course…" Kakashi pondered out loud, taking his hand from his face and looking at everyone. " The Shinobi Hunters who manage corpse disposals are supposed to destroy bodies they kill at once, right on the spot."

"So what?" The kunoichi asked, being a bit unnerved by this new information.

"Don't you get it? How did the kid in the mask dispose of Zabuza's corpse?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked aloud, and then paused to see that he was still looking at her. "How should I know? He took the body with him."

"Yes, he did…Even though all he needed to take home as proof that he'd made the kill was the head…and there is a mystery surrounding the weapons that the hunter used to dispatch his prey…"

Across the room, Sasuke's face held a look of surprise to it. "No way…"

"Yes…Way!"

"What the hell nonsense are you all mumbling about?" Tazuna asked, not really paying much attention to the conversation.

"That it's likely…Zabuza is still alive!"

Shock spread through the room like a lightning bolt across a darkened sky. How could that be? Everyone had been so sure that he was dead…

"**What the hell are you talking about!" **Naruto screamed, balling his fists and bringing them to his chest.

"**But, Kakashi-sensei, you checked to be sure Zabuza was dead, didn't you!"** The pink haired one yelled after Naruto took a turn, dread, shock and confusion coursing through her.

Kakashi recalled the event carefully. "I made sure of it…But…A deathlike trance could have created a very convincing illusion of the real thing…Those acupuncture needle weapons that Shinobi Hunter used can be deadly. If they hit a vital spot. If not, the mortality rate is surprisingly low…and remember, they were originally designed as medical treatment tools. Shinobi Hunters and all members of any village's corpse disposal squad must possess an intimate and thorough knowledge of the human physiology. It would be simple for one of them to place a person into a near death state. First of all, the masked boy went to the trouble to lugging off Zabuza's heavy corpse…secondly, the acupuncture needles he used as weapons, while potentially deadly, can also be used to inflict non-mortal injury…These two points suggest that the kid's objective was to give the illusion of killing Zabuza…While he rescued him. Things may be just the way they seemed but we have to consider the other possibility."

"Shinobi Hunters are supposed to hunt outlaw Shinobi, right?" Tazuna asked. "Aren't you just complicating things by over thinking them?"

"Uuusually…But ignoring something that smells this fishy is a great first step to being caught completely unprepared and preparation is a shinobi's most important skill. Oh well! Whether Zabuza's dead of alive, there may still be more and even deadlier ninja in the service of our enemy, Gato." Kakashi finished.

Sakura looked thoughtful for a few minutes before speaking up, "Kakashi-sensei! You said "Preparation is a shinobi's most important skill," But right now you can't even move. What are you going to do?"

A small chuckle was emitted from masked lips.

The kunoichi made a confused face. What the hell was so funny about a situation like that?

"I'm going to increase your training schedule."

"What? Training!" Surprise lit up through the orbs of different colors.

"But Kakashi-sensei, what will a little extra training now matter with what we're up against? Our opponent is a ninja so powerful that even with your Sharingan eye power, he almost defeated you!" She blurted out.

"And when I was beleaguered, Sakura…Think about who it was that rescued me. You three are all maturing, progressing rapidly, and your powers growing exponentially…Especially your Naruto. You've grown the most."

The pink haired girl looked over to Naruto, who was all smiles and looked thoughtful.

"But with that being said. The skills I teach you now will be an interim thing only, to tide us over until I recover enough to take over."

Green eyes looked back to the dark figure, sitting on the futon. "But Kakashi-sensei, even if Zabuza is alive, how can we just train without knowing when he may return again?"

"An excellent question, but once a person has entered a near death trance, it's quite some time before their body returns to its previous state of health and readiness."

"So we'll train while we're waiting!" Naruto spoke up. "Could be fun!"

A small child entered the room . "It won't be fun for you."

Of course, Naruto had to be the first one to open his mouth. Sakura just looked confused at the matter. Who was he, anyway? He was soon introduced as Inari, Tazuna's grandson. He told Tsunami that they were going to die.

The blonde began to work off of the insult and yell a few of his own, the kunoichi tried to calm him down, insisting that he was only a boy while thinking to herself that the comment was a lot of good self esteem to them, especially with Kakashi being down at the moment.

Naruto continued to talk of how he was going to be Hokage and replied that Gato's name meant chocolate and he couldn't seriously expect him to be afraid of someone with such a ridiculous name.

"Hero? You're dumb! There's no such thing!"

This really set him off. "Wh-What?"

"I said quit it!" The pink haired girl grabbed his shoulder, holding him back.

"If you don't want to die, go home now."

"Where are you off to, Inari?" Tazuna asked his retreating grandson.

"I'm going to watch the ocean from my room."

All that was heard was a slamming shoji door and the low growl of Naruto.

"Please forgive him." The old man looked to his bodyguards.

Naruto left the room and everyone seemed silent.

Green eyes went back to her sensei, who was silently staring at the door. She sighed to herself. More training! She hoped that nothing came up again or Zabuza didn't prove them wrong and show up anyway.

She looked over to Sasuke, who sat in silence, then back to Tazuna, then to her teacher, who was now looking back at her.

Viridian eyes sparkled on him; it looked like he was going to be alright.

**II**.

The woods were full of fall trees, whose branches and long trunks extended to the sky, as if to reach a destination they could never find.

The silver haired jounin was on crutches.

Sakura's blonde team mate was celebrating that day, until the discussion of chakra came up, and then he just looked dumbfounded at what chakra was.

Exasperated faces sprouted across the scenery.

"All right, Sakura…" Kakashi threw a hand out in her direction as she began to explain the definition and purpose of chakra to him.

"That's correct."

The pink haired girl beamed. She had a smile from ear to ear and felt a small warm feeling within the pit of her stomach. She felt good that her teacher chose her to explain chakra and felt as if she were competent enough to describe it so thoroughly.

Well, the warm feeling was there, until Naruto opened his mouth. Sakura frowned and she didn't remember it being quite so cold over there.

Kakashi explained further, the importance of balancing chakra. After that Naruto asked what the training would be.

"You learn to control your body through the harshest training…Go out on a limb and learn from experience."

"How do we do that?" Sakura asked.

"How? We climb trees!"

**TBC…**

**A/N: Bleh…Not much here but actual storyline. There will be something different in the next chapter though. Please review! Also, check out 'Blood in the Snow' by Ohtori Akio. It's not KakaSaku, but it's really interesting.**

**Also, remember to check out the other aforementioned fanfics. They are quite enjoyable.**


	12. Lesson 12: To Surpass

**A/N: I'm going to extend updates on this to every two weeks, my life is currently busy, so until things calm down, this fanfic will be updated every other week until further notice or until I complete a few other fanfictions. Don't worry, that shouldn't be long since one has three chapters left and the other has two.**

**Sorry for the delay.**

**Hope this doesn't seem like I'm going too fast, I want to fly through some discussions so it won't be as boring and re-capish.**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**By: Melissa Norvell a.k.a. Oneesan no Miroku Houshi**

**Chapter 12: To Surpass**

They all stood there as the lesson in climbing trees was explained to them. The first to try the lesson out was Naruto, who immediately fell on his back.

'_Figures that Naruto would be the first to fail…as always.' _Sakura made an annoyed face at Naruto's attempt to show off.

After Kakashi released them for training, the pink haired kunoichi began to practice the exercise, building up her chakra and beginning to scale the tree to the top. After a couple of failures, she quickly realized her mistakes and what she needed to do to correct them and far surpassed Naruto and Sasuke.

'_Sasuke's going to be so proud of me!' _Sakura thought to herself.

"Well, we see who has the best control of their chakras, our young lady." Kakashi complimented.

"Incredible! You go Sakura! That's my girl!" Naruto yelled.

The kunoichi's head went down. "I wanted to impress Sasuke and the only one who cared was Naruto…And Kakashi-sensei…" She looked over to her teacher, who was speaking to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Kakashi-sensei how could you?" She yelled. _'Sasuke's going to hate me now…'_

Training that day had been harsh. It was the same repetitive thing over and over, climb the tree and try to see how high you could get, then try to beat that mark and the next and the next.

The pink haired kunoichi lay at the bottom of the tree trunk, looking worn out and tired. Breath heavy and a thin layer of sweat clung to her flesh. Her pink locks were disheveled and she felt hot and sticky.

She closed her eyes for a few moments, finding some rest. _'I'm exhausted. The boys have so much stamina.' _She thought, looking at Naruto and Sasuke's progress. _'But Naruto hasn't improved one bit. Now he'll probably have a tantrum and quit.'_

"Dang it!" She heard Naruto spit out as he began walking over to her. She sat up and internally laughed to herself. "I knew it! He's so predictable."

"Hey Sakura. Could you help me get the hang of this?" The kunoichi looked over to him, a confused expression written on her face. Now this was something that she wasn't expecting.

"Huh?"

After teaching instructing Naruto on how she had accomplished the exercise so quickly, she decided to rest up before receiving more orders from Kakashi.

As Sakura rested, Kakashi walked down the tree and over to his student, who looked tired on the ground. Green orbs widened upon seeing her teacher.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei." The girl replied, looking up at him. "Is there something you wanted?"

"You did an excellent job out there, Sakura. You're chakra control is definitely the best of the group."

"Thank you." The girl smiled. "How are your injuries coming along? Are they healing any faster?"

"They're coming along nicely. Thank you, Sakura."

"You're welcome, besides without you, we'd all be dead."

"But you all saved me when Zabuza had me entrapped in his water jutsu." Kakashi stated. "So I owe you my life."

"Guess we're even then huh?" The pink haired girl stuck out her tongue playfully.

Her teacher produced his happy anime eye in response. "Well, that's a good way of looking at it."

"So what did you want?"

"To tell you that you're done with your training here. You should go to the bridge and guard Tazuna, just incase something happens there."

"Will do!" She smiled.

At the bridge, Sakura yawned, utterly bored with watching the workers and Tazuna build on the bridge, listening to the sound of the workers, then she heard Tazuna speak up.

"Where are blondie and pretty-boy?"

I surpassed them. Kakashi-sensei told me to stay and protect you." She looked rather proud of herself for that.

"Really?"

A third voice came in and interrupted the conversation. Sakura remained quit and listen to Tazuna and one of his men discuss whether the bridge is worth it or not.

After that the two of them walked through town. Sakura ended up beating up some pervert who touched her inappropriately. She was complimented by Tazuna on her ability to beat someone up. She noticed that there was hardly anything in the stores and there were a lot of people begging, even children. It disheartened her to see a town living in such oppression and poverty.

Later on, everyone was enjoying dinner at Tsunami's house. Naruto and Sasuke stuffing their faces. Tazuna began to mention Inari's father figure and Tsunami got angry with him about mentioning the subject. This started a conversation on the true hero of the village. Sakura felt sorry for Inari for going through such an ordeal.

A time later, Naruto and Sasuke still haven't returned to Tazuna's, so Sakura and Kakashi headed off to find them. They later found Naruto lying on a tree branch high above them. They both looked up at the blonde.

"Well! Well! Did you see? Look at how high I can go!" He shouted.

"Naruto can climb all that way?" Sakura's face lit up in amazement.

Until Naruto began to fall off of the branch.

"You idiot!" She screamed.

"No. If he falls from that height…" Kakashi started, then the girl beside him screamed.

But then his feet stuck to the bottom of the tree branch. "Psych! Hah gotacha suckers!"

The two below made exasperated face.

"You…You almost gave me a heart attack!" Sakura yelled at him. _'I'm gonna kill you for this later!'_

Then he feet became unstuck and the horror-ridden faces returned to their hosts, but then Sasuke caught his ankle and they returned to relieved ones.

"YES! Sasuke saves the day! He gives me the shivers!" Sakura complimented, but noted how her heart seemed to feel hollow on that subject.

Why was that so? She used to enjoy giving Sasuke compliments and it used to make her feel as if she were doing something good. Now that she gave him compliments, part of her wanted to doubt that.

Sakura was seated, she could feel the movement underneath her going up and down slowly as her sensei, who was her chair at the moment did push ups on one finger.

He and Tazuna seemed to be having a conversation, but she was fading in and out on her own whims. She kept mulling over and over again in her mind the events of earlier that day.

Something weird was going on here, and not just with her. Viridian eyes went to her teacher below.

Why did she feel so empty about Sasuke now?

"_I can't be easy on you, but I can show you that there is more to life then Sasuke."_

That sentence seemed to resurface from the depths of her memory. Was he inadvertently teaching her not to gush over Sasuke so much? She blinked. No. She just couldn't get over Sasuke! He was the love of her life…

Or was he?

Wait! Why was she even questioning that? There's no way that anyone else could be better for her! Her love was strong! She loved him ever since they were young; she even gave up her friendship with Ino to become her rival so she could one day win over her.

She had sacrificed so much, and put up with his constant put downs so that she could work herself to one day being worthy in his eyes, or at least enough to make him like her.

But oddly enough, she felt hollow when thinking about it. Like all her sacrifices meant nothing.

"True Shinobi do not merely dance to the tune of whoever plays the piper." She heard Kakashi say, ending his conversation with Tazuna.

She blinked. What an odd time to hear that statement…

**TBC**

**A/N: Well, I wrote six pages. Sorry about not updating. I went through a lot of stuff last weekend and wasn't able to get anything done and I went somewhere the weekend before. I'm updating this story every two weeks to avoid any more things like this. **

**Please review and tell me what you think.**


	13. Lesson 13: To Be Dependable

**A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates. My best friend's house caught on fire and completely burned to the ground. So sorry for no updating in a while I was dealing with that.**

**Thanks everyone at fanfiction. Net for over 20,000 hits and 100 favorites and watches.**

**Lessons In Shinobi Love**

**Lesson 13: To Be Dependable**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

Everyone was aghast. Dead men lay everywhere strewn along the bridge like useless pieces of trash, decimated and bleeding. Some were dead, while others were clinging to life.

Tazuna rushed over to one of his men, who lay motionless on the ground.

The man simply said the word 'monsters'.

As if on queue, a dense mist began to roll in, and the four jumped into position, each facing a different way, poised and ready for attack if any enemy ninja decided to show themselves. They could hear a familiar voice, telling them it's been a long time since their last rendezvous, and how Kakashi still had the brats tagging along with him.

Out of the mist, multiple water doppelgangers of Zabuza appeared and shortly after, they were quickly defeated by Sasuke.

"Well, it seems the brats have matured a bit…" The Demon of the Mist spoke. "Into worthy rivals, eh, Haku?"

"Indeed."

After exchanging a few words, Haku and Sasuke began to face off, leaving Kakashi, Sakura and Tazuna to watch their battle. Green eyes watched intently as the two faced off, Sasuke matching Haku's speed and proving to be a worthy rival in battle. Then Haku's pulled off a move called 'The Thousand Needles of Death', as thousands of needles flew at the stoic boy, Sakura called out to him, fearing that he would be seriously injured, or possibly die. The dark haired boy easily pulled out from the move and landed his enemy a swift kick in the face, sending him flying backwards.

"You had that coming…For underestimating my team…and for your name calling." Kakashi told them. "He may not look like much, but Sasuke is the top-rated rookie from all of Konohagakure Village…And Sakura is our sharpest mind…"

The pink haired girl could feel a blush rise to her cheeks. Kakashi had thought her important. She didn't know why, but it stirred feeling deep within her.

She had never been too confident in herself, thinking that she was weaker then both Naruto and Sasuke, always seeing them pass her by, and now she was filled with confidence from those simple words. She smiled to herself.

"And last but not least…Let's not forget out own comedy ninja…The maverick show-stopper, the one and only Naruto!"

Soon after her teacher's introduction, Sakura could hear the name of a jutsu being called out, then her head turned sharply to Sasuke's direction, where she saw a circle of enormous mirrors, each made of nothing but ice. She could barely see between the placing of each mirror. Inside the wall of ice, was the dark haired boy, he seemed to be looking around at something shooting back and fourth between the mirrors with great speed. Sakura assumed that it must have been Haku.

She saw her sensei shoot off in order to save him, but Zabuza beat him half way, telling him that he would have no part in their battle unless he went through him first, then a yell could be heard. The pink haired girl's mind went into a sense of paranoia.

"Sasuke!" She called out, but received no answer.

She stood in silence for a few minutes, and then turned to Tazuna. "I'm sorry Mr. Tazuna, but I'm going to have to leave you for just a little bit.

"Go ahead, " The old man assured. "I'll be fine."

The girl took off, running toward the sight of the battle and flinging a kunai knife into the mirrors. Haku zipped in and out with great stealth and caught her kunai knife in mid flight. Green eyes widened.

'_He…Caught it…'_

A sense of worry ran through her mind. Sasuke couldn't take on this masked boy all on his own. What was he going to do?

There was a puff of smoke on the other side of the mirrors and Haku was laying on the ground in one swift movement.

"Who…?" Sakura questioned, looking a bit confused at her mystery ninja, who soon revealed himself.

"Naruto!" She called out. She was actually happy to see the annoying blonde, despite what she thought of him. But soon her look of happiness became a look of surprise as shurikens were thrown in his direction, but they were quickly deflected by senbon needles.

She could then hear noises from within the cage of mirrors, worry and anticipation ran through her blood as Naruto joined in the fight. She could hear Kakashi and Zabuza talking from across the bridge and turned her head to hear what they were saying.

"I never imagined anyone could master such a technique at so young an age!" She could hear her sensei say.

"Such a technique?" She wondered, listening more intently on their conversation, trying to figure out the severity of the situation.

"It's a Kekkei-Genkai – A skill that can be passed from one generation to the next. A genetic trait…Running through the bloodlines of those of the purest Shinobi pedigree…Some of the most extraordinary techniques are handed down from generation to generation solely on that basis…"

"You mean…" Sakura said, catching on to what he was saying.

"Precisly, it's one of the same order of skill as my Sharingan Mirror Eye, but even my Sharingan can't copy, mimic, or break that boy's Kekkei-Genkai."

This was bad. There was no way to beat Haku's jutsu. While she was thinking about what the boys needed the most, she could hear Haku's words, talking about dreams. She decided that she'd cheer them on from the side-lines. She couldn't do anything but watch them.

There she went, feeling helpless again…But she couldn't help it. She wished she were stronger.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Don't you **dare **loose to a person like him!"

"Stop encouraging them, Sakura!" She heard Kakashi tell her.

"Huh?" She looked to her sensei.

"Even if we knew of a way to counter his technique, your team mates still wouldn't be up to the task of defeating that boy."

He made it sound so bleak.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Sakura questioned nervously, fearing the worst for her team mates.

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. She felt a barrage of different feelings from every spectrum, and it was hard to think clearly without being too emotional about any given subject.

"Kakashi-sensei…What can we do?" Green eyes looked over to her teacher, seeking advice, hoping he'd have an answer.

"If I'd put an end to this…You'd forgive me." She could hear him say, reaching for his hitai-ate and pulling it up. Sakura knew what this meant…

"That Sharingan Eye!" She said in delight.

But her delight was short lived as Zabuza plunged a kunai knife in to the jounin's hand. The sound of fluid hitting the ground echoes through the girl's ears.

"Sensei..!"

She watched intently as she could see her teacher's blood hitting the ground of the bridge. A new sense of worry coursed through her veins.

"Sakura! I'm counting on you to protect Mr. Tazuna!"

She blinked as she acknowledged her sensei's advice. _'He's right…I've got to have faith in Sasuke and concentrate on what I have to do.'_

She reassumed her position as Tazuna's body guard, placing herself in front of him, explaining to him that the air was crackling with energy and ordering him to stay by her side.

Sakura watched Kakashi and Zabuza fight intently. Then the fog rose to a zero visibility and the two could not be seen. Green eyes attempted to stay in focus and keep alert for any impending danger. Suddenly, she turned to see the enemy right behind Tazuna. He had snuck up on them so silently that not even her keen eyesight could keep track of them.

She let out a surprised and terrified scream, fearing that the end was near. Sakura had failed her mission. She had failed to protect Tazuna. She clenched her eyes shut, ready to hear the sound of tearing flesh and the pained yell of the old man…

But it never came.

Nothing came…

There was a clean cutting noise and she could hear the dripping of blood, but she was afraid of opening her eyes. She didn't want to open her eyes and be face to face with Zabuza. Fearing the worst, yet wondering why she never heard a body hit the ground, viridian orbs cracked open slowly and unsurely.

Finally, opening fully, she could see Zabuza, but she wasn't face to face with him. Kakashi had jumped in front of them, getting cut yet again. This time, it was a deep gash across his chest, going diagonally down his body to the right.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She yelled.

He had risked his life to save her…again. She stood there, still in shock from what had happened. If it wasn't for him, then she and Tazuna wouldn't be standing. He was her hero.

He was ready to sacrifice his life for her.

He bled for her.

"Sakura," She could hear a voice, snapping her back into reality and bringing her through her haze. "Don't move an inch. I'll finish this as quickly as I can!"

"But…" She started to protest, but then backed down. She wasn't about the make the same mistake she made in the past by leaving Tazuna unguarded. "Oh…Ok…"

"I too was once a member of a Ninja Assassin Crops. I'll show you what kind of shinobi I once was…This isn't something I learned with the Sharingan. Let me show you my own true art!"

With those final words, Kakashi raced off into the fog, leaving the pink haired girl behind with the old man.

Green eyes tried to catch sight of the retreating figure, but lost him as he grew further and further away, being consumed by the fog.

She wished him the best of luck.

Falling silent for the moment, thoughts reeled through her head. All of her team mates were fighting, facing off against foes of great power…and all she could do was watch in dismay as they each risked their lives for the good of the mission.

Naruto and Sasuke battled Haku, while her teacher faced off with Zabuza.

But she had to keep a level head. She couldn't let her worry get to her. They all counted on her to keep Tazuna safe. Sakura had to keep confidence, and as bleak as things seemed, she had faith in her teacher….and her team mates.

**TBC**

**A/N: I actually wrote 6 pages this time…Well, 6 pages in my program. I hope everyone leaves a review. Again, I apologize. The next chapter will come much more quickly.**

**Well, I'm off to update Mission: Freak Out Kakashi. See you next chapter.**


	14. Lesson 14: To Be A True Shinobi

**A/N: Here I am with chapter 14. I guess I've not been updating as I should because A lot of this material is not my own and it's general re-capping of the Zabuza Arc, now that I'm coming to the end of it, I can finally get on to my own material and everyone can see what a true and original writer I am. **

**I do have to say, that this is, by far my most popular fanfic. It has 227777 hits and is in 14 C2's has 107 favorites and 112 watches, not to mention the 368 reviews! Everything minus reviews makes it my most popular story so far! I have a few that beat this in reviews, but nothing else! You all are great! Thank you so much! There was a time when I almost quit writing fanfiction. I'm glad I stuck to it!**

**Also on a second note, I have a new fanfic out called _Motherhood_ it's a KakaSaku romance that might catch someone's fancy! **

**NOTES: Probably going to sum up chapters 28-30 and skip right to the main finish. Plus most of 28-30 is based around Naruto and Sasuke being in the kekkai-genkai of Haku and Kakashi and Zabuza's little skirmish outside of the Crystal Ice Mirrors. Don't get me wrong, I love Zabuza as much as I love Kakashi (who is my favorite character at the moment) but I don't feel like completely re-capping anything that Sakura couldn't see. I've just been giving her general opinion on things and developing her relationship to Kakashi. This chapter will probably be longer then most of my chapters in this fanfiction. Please bear with me, especially those waiting on _Mission: Freak Out Kakashi_ or my other works at the moment.**

**Now, enjoy!**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**Lesson 14: To Be A True Shinobi**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

Through viridian eyes, Sakura watched as the two separate battles raged on. She couldn't see anything within the confines of the zero visibility mist that Zabuza put up. She could hear the two ninja talking, and then some odd noises were heard. If she hadn't have been for sure, she would surely think she heard dogs, and a lot of them.

But where would dogs come from at a time like this?

She could sense chakra in the air; it had to be Kakashi's. There was no mistaken it from the others. After about ten minutes, the thick mist began to dissipate. Her eyes stayed transfixed on the mist, its foggy depths slowly revealing two figures.

"I see two people, but it looks like they're just standing there, glaring at each other." She pointed out.

"It's hard to make out…Which one is your Master Kakashi?"

"One of them's moving!"

Suddenly, she felt a rush of wind coming from someone's attack. The mist was gone and the sight to be revealed sent everyone aghast. Haku had jumped in front of Kakashi's Chidori attack, causing Kakashi to hit the wrong target. Blood was splattered everywhere, the ground, Zabuza and Kakashi, who was shocked at the boy's noble attempt to protect Zabuza.

Dread and horror etched itself across the two bystander's faces as Sakura held her hands up to her face in aghast. Emotions were on high as the scene before her played out. A thousand thoughts rushed through her head.

Sakura knew that the trials of being a shinobi weren't going to be easy, and this was her first time to witness something of this magnitude. She suppressed the feelings of sorrow and compassion which welled inside of her being.

She couldn't cry.

It was forbidden by shinobi standards.

While Kakashi had been caught up in the moment of the matter, the mist ninja took this as an advantage to attack, since his opponent had been wide open for an onslaught.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The girl screamed out, not wanting her sensei to succumb to the same fate as the masked boy.

"Naruto…Stay out of this!" She could hear her sensei call out to a figure on the opposing side of the battle field.

Naruto?

'…_Naruto…?' _She thought, a gleam of hope spreading across fields of green. "Naruto! You're alive! Huh? What about Sasuke?"

Sorrow etched itself across his face, and then worry shot through the pink haired girl. Her mind raced, fearing the worst for her team mate. She might not know how she felt about the Uchiha, but she didn't want him to die. She still cared about him.

Though her mind was confused, she grasped Tazuna's hand and led him over to Sasuke, who was lying on the ground, motionless. The stoic boy looked like a human pin cushion, decorated with senbon needles. As they neared a foggy area, Sakura began to tremble. Fear and dread consumed her as she approached her fallen team mate and every inch of her was trying to hold tears back.

She touched his face, it was cold like ice.

"He's so cold. This isn't an illusion is it?"

"Don't hold back for my sake," Tazuna told her sympathetically. "There are times its right to give in and shed some honest tears."

"Always got perfect scores on all of my tests in school." Sakura said nostalgically. "I memorized each and every one of the one hundred rules of conduct for ninja and shinobi. I used to write them out with pride. We had a test one day, and the question was…"What was the twenty fifth rule of shinobi conduct?" Just like always, I wrote it down…" Tears began to flood from glassy green eyes. "No matter what happens, true shinobi must never…ever…show their emotions. The mission is the only priority. Carry that in your heart and never, never shed a tear…"

She began to sob. Sakura couldn't hold it back. There had been so much death and destruction. Sasuke was gone and Kakashi was out there risking his life against Zabuza. Today was the day when her lessons in shinobi conduct were put to the test, and once again, she had failed.

Amidst her crying, she could hear a number of voices behind her, including Naruto, Kakashi and Zabuza, but she wasn't in the right mind to tune in on what was going on behind her. All she could concentrate on was Sasuke.

Emotion flooded through her and her body shook with loss and fatigue from exerting herself. Then she heard a voice that provided a small ray of hope.

"Sakura…"

Could it be?

Was it really him?

Sasuke?

The pink haired girl lifted her head, still trembling. The tears flowing non-stop down her face as she paused for a moment of silence to recollect herself.

"**Sasuke! Sasuke! **"The girl flung herself upon the wounded boy who fell on the ground.

"Sakura…You're hurting me…" His weak voice came out.

Sakura apologized, feeling embarrassed. She backed off for a while, allowing the wounded Uchiha to wearily get up. On his way up, he asked her what had become of Naruto and the masked boy, she told him that Haku was dead and Naruto, she wasn't sure about. She informed him that Haku died protecting Zabuza.

After a pause, she wanted to lighten the mood by telling Sasuke he did a good job.

"You're amazing, Sasuke! You survived a death blow." She complimented, to which he said nothing. She then decided that she would tell her team mates of the good news. She hopped up and shouted back to Naruto that Sasuke was all right and alive.

"Hey!" Sakura could hear an unfamiliar voice call out.

Until then, she took in the true carnage of the situation. There were thousands of ninja, armed and ready to fight. Haku was dead. Zabuza was dead. Gato was dead.

"Stop where you are!" She heard another voice intone, not so unfamiliar.

It was Inari.

And he brought the villagers with him. As a bluff to ward off the enemy, Naruto and Kakashi preformed the Shadow Doppelganger Technique, causing them to run off in freight.

From a distance away, green eyes watched the tragedy before her unfold.

Zabuza lay on the ground, bloody and battered. There were many weapons sticking of his body in many places, and rich red blood dripping from his form, coating the newly laid brick of the bridge with tainted blood. He was still alive, but it wouldn't be long until he faded away like a melting snowflake.

"Kakashi…Do me a favor?" The fallen assassin asked in a weak and almost breathless voice.

"What is it?" Though casting a sorrowful gaze, her sensei did not shed a tear, his voice remained calm.

"I want to…See his face…"

Green eyes watched as the whole bridge fell silent. Kakashi carried the wounded man over to the child and laid him down respectfully. Still brimmed with tears, she blinked them back, trying not to break code 25 of shinobi conduct. In situations like this, it was hard to keep her cool.

She began to realize that things weren't as they appeared. Zabuza was turning out to not be so bad. He was a real person with real problems that happened to be caught in the middle of Gato's backhanded plans.

Now, the demon of the mist, which was so cruel just moments ago, was lying on the ground, tears flowing from his eyes. Sakura couldn't help but think that he wasn't so demonic after all. Perhaps he was just misunderstood. Besides, if he were stone cold evil, how could he cry such pure, crystalline tears? Tears that reflected heartache and sadness.

"If I could…If I were able…I would want to go…to the same place…on the other side…As you…"

She couldn't help it. The tears began to flow again.

Perhaps, if it were another time and place, Haku and Zabuza would have been allies of some sort.

She felt something land on her cheek. It was snowing.

Two weeks after the incident, the four of them stood before the small memorial for Zabuza and Haku. Eyes of many colors each with their own sorrow cast upon the graves before the blue ones flickered with a glint of mischief.

A hand reached out to the food offerings placed before the graves, but it was slapped away by a firm feminine one.

"What sneaky, greedy trick are you up to now?"

"Heh heh…" Was the guilty reply.

"You eat an offering, you'll be punished by the gods!" Sakura scolded.

How **dare **Naruto be so disrespectful!

She turned around and crossed her arms, sticking her bottom lip out a little and making a pouty face. "But still…" She looked thoughtful and in deep contemplation. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm?"

"…I can't help wondering. Were those two right about what a ninja should be?" She replied a bit sadly.

"A shinobi shouldn't be concerned with a reason for her own existence. It is important that we exist merely as a tool for our homeland to use in whatever they need. That's as true for us in Konohagure as it is for ninja elsewhere." Kakashi told her.

"Is that what's becoming a full pledged ninja's going to be about? Because I don't think I like it."

"Do you really feel that way, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Wellll…No. And that's the way all ninja live our lives with that idea always bubbling beneath the surface of our minds, disturbing us….Like it did Zabuza…and the boy…"

A wave of silence washed over the gravesite as the four just stared idly at the graves.

The green eyed girl wondered if deep down inside, Kakashi did believe that statement. He drew out the word 'well'. She cast a gaze to Kakashi, who looked as normal as ever. There was a hint of sadness that radiated from his aura, but nothing outstanding.

Was this really the way of the shinobi?

She wondered if she could ever make a decision not based on emotion. She knew she was a naturally compassionate person and it was hard for her not to show any emotion, even for her enemies if need there be.

"That's it! I've made up my mind!" Naruto finally said voice full of command and determination. "I am going to create my own Nindo – My own Ninja path. My own destiny!"

Kakashi looked at him in silence for a few moments, before smiling.

**TBC**

**A/N: Done recapping manga stuff! celebrates Now I can go my own way with this. I decided to add Sakura's thoughts about Zabuza's death. It may just be me (mostly because I'm quite partial to Zabuza and I myself don't think that he's as bad as he made himself out to be. I'd like to think that Team 7 learned that by the end of chapter 33 of book four.**

**I do think Zabuza was highly misunderstood and wanted to portray him in a believable way, yet still remain true the events from the manga, hope I did a good job.**

**Well, please R&R and tell me what you think! Will update soon!**


	15. Lesson 15: Learn to Be Lonely

**A/N: Now that the weight of recapping has been lifted, I can get to the fanfic's actual cause. KakaSaku goodness to come.**

**Thanks for bearing with me. Man, I'll never re-cap in a fanfic again. Good thing I didn't have to do that with Mission: Freak Out Kakashi, I'd still have 6 chapters to go **

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**Lesson 15: To Learn To Be Lonely**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

She was gone.

She left him alone.

Perhaps this was a good thing, though. It could teach her many lessons, perhaps some that he himself couldn't teach her. He had his regrets of not working with her as he did Sasuke and Naruto, but he felt that she needed her space after their little skirmish in training.

On the other hand, Chuunin training could just make the bond between her and Sasuke closer, ruining his chance. But he didn't want to be lonely any more; he didn't want to bear that heartache etched on the list of love.

After many years of seclusion and being distant, Kakashi realized that he was only hurting himself more and more by distancing himself from everyone and found himself yearning for the simple pleasures that he used so freely take for granted.

Maybe his moment of loneliness got the better of him during training.

What was he thinking anyway?

He probably scared his student in that one moment of inconsideration.

As he walked through the dusty streets of Konoha, lined with the many ninja and civilians alike, he seemed to be a disappearing soul as he learned to be lonely and let his students advance to higher training.

After all, all teachers must give their students wings to fly, and once they learned how, it was something that must be done. A shinobi is an unfeeling tool, and though Kakashi didn't truly think along with the Rules of Shinobi Conduct, he knew it was a cold fact of life.

He couldn't help but miss his students. Sasuke's brooding, Naruto's arguing and Sakura's laughter. Those images which were burned into his mind sent him back to the roots of childhood, something he himself didn't live normally.

And so he walked. It was off to take on missions alone.

And Kakashi was reminded of what it was to be alone once more.

**XI.**

During this period, he was assigned several missions with the other Chuunin and Jounin of Konoha, accomplishing all he had set out to do. Because like any good teacher who passes their students and sends them onward, he must learn to move on. Though moving on was never an easy subject for Kakashi to deal with.

After all, his childhood was still burned into his memory, like a horrible brand that would never fade away, and his team mate's deaths rode on his shoulders like the shadow of the grim reaper, which threatened his life daily with the tasks at hand in being a shinobi.

He often thought about his students and wondered how they were doing, recalling days of old and wondering to himself if any of them would remember to come back to him, especially a certain pink haired lady.

Sakura.

At times, he wished he had worked with her as much as he had Sasuke and Naruto, but figured that he was getting in too deep with his indecent act during survival training.

That was one thing he scolded himself for.

She probably thought he was a world class freak.

He was lonely back then, but now it seemed colder then before as nostalgia seemed to hit him from many different angles, both good and bad. Looking to the ironically blue skies, he sighed. The sun was beating down upon his form, illuminating him with an almost unearthly glow as he watched a lone crow fly across the clear skies.

Despite whatever previous mistakes he had made, he did worry for Sakura. She never found herself to be the most beneficial or strongest member on the team. She always had this thing for Sasuke, something that was a distraction to the team, or perhaps Kakashi thought this because of other, most cryptic and complex feelings then he first wanted to show.

Was that little escapade outside of the survival training just loneliness or something else entirely?

The though both disturbed and even frightened him a little. Getting close to anyone wasn't something he had a desire to fulfill. He had remembered what it got him with Obito, and he swore to never let anything like that happen again.

It was a promise.

A promise to himself.

It was an inhibition that he didn't want to fade, a barrier around his heart. Against his better judgment, he had to take it as all shinobi did. He was a tool, just like any other shinobi, used for any client's purpose, without an opinion on the mission he was given, whether it was suicidal or just plain wrong.

He had seen the just plain wrong version of this after entering ANBU, and deep down, if given too much thought, it probably would disturb him. But Kakashi decided long ago not to give things of that subject matter too much thought. At least in that department.

Somehow, no matter how far away, Sakura had a hold on him. It was a hold that he both hated, was disgusted by and yet adored all in one emotion. This girl, who was so in love with an Uchiha held a power over him that smashed his past ideals of not getting too close for fear of causing a loved one death into fragments, which were unrepairable no matter how many times Kakashi had tried to piece them back together again.

She was his power, his pleasure and his pain all in one.

He did seem to notice a slight difference in her when she left for the exams. She had even blushed when he mentioned her name. It had confused him a little as to why exactly, but his mind reeled back the conclusion that it was in recollection of what had happened between them and it didn't really matter at the time, because when she came back, she would be with Sasuke, or at least still making googly eyes at him like any other adolescent girl in her class.

He sighed at this thought.

The lone jounin didn't know why, but he wanted Sakura to see that Sasuke would always treat him as he did in the past. The stoic boy was too entangled in avenging his Clan to want love or anything to do with this subject. He may even, in his young age find love to be a sign of weakness when facing a foe such as Itachi. He may even be correct on that theory, at least for now.

But Sasuke was young, after all and didn't have the experience that Kakashi had dealing with things of that nature in the past. Idle mistakes of the heart.

Those mistakes had cost him greatly and changed his views of the shinobi world, making him wiser.

Damn whatever human emotions still remained that weren't sold to the ANBU Ops. Perhaps he should have sold love to them as well. If not for that emotion, he wouldn't be mulling over this whole predicament.

But that could not be helped.

He had come down to one conclusion: The reason he felt this attachment to Sakura was out of love. He wanted to make her see that Sasuke didn't appreciate her, to avoid her from getting hurt as he did in the past. He knew that she could not handle it as he did. Her heart was frail and so easily exposed to pain. While the object of the training was to make her into a person not so accustomed to getting hurt, he could see that in that subject she was willing to put that very organ on a plate if need there be.

He didn't need Sharingan to know that it was a foolish mistake in the making.

While he thought it a selfish endeavor, he also knew the old saying. **Whether you think about it or not, the actions and choices you make are never as conceited as you think they are. **When he thought about it, it held true. He was doing it for her sake, because deep down for reasons unknown, it did pain him to see her heart be torn apart by Sasuke.

Even if what he did in the past was rash and considered disturbing by most, he did it out of the kindness of his heart, something rarely done by someone like him, who was so closed to the world in general, let alone the romantic department.

He would learn to be lonely, but patiently wait until she came back, whether she was with Sasuke or not.

Though he silently hoped she was not.

**TBC**

**A/N: God that was short…And a whole lot of 'Kakashi doing nothing'. Oh well, I wanted this to be like a spacer-type chapter. There will be KakaSaku in the next one. **

**As a side note, Sakura DID blush when Kakashi mentioned her name before starting off to the Chuunin Exams. I don't know about anyone else, but it makes me wonder…And at the same time, I found myself going HA! I KNEW IT! **

**Please R&R!**


	16. Lesson 16: To Return

**A/N: Well, here I am with yet another chapter. I'm glad that you all like this fanfic and it makes me happy to know that so many people review it. This chapter is Kakashi-psyche mixed with some fluffy KakaSaku moments. I probably owe it to you all for that recapping job.**

**Got a note:**

**MistressDragonFlame: Yes, Sakura does blush in the manga. (I had to look, lol) It's Volume 5, Chapter 38, page 45 to be exact. (Yeah, I went and looked)**

**Well, here's the chapter, complete with some KakaSaku.**

**: Lessons in Shinobi Love:**

**: Lesson 16: To Return :**

She had returned to him.

Sakura was finally back, and she looked so much differently then he had remembered. Her long, flowing pink hair was now short and held a slightly more rugged appearance to it, and she was battle worn, as if she had fought many tough battles while he was absent.

She decided to come back to him when he least expected it. It was early in the morning and the sky was of a bright blue, a few white clouds loomed in the sky. They were sparsely about the heavens.

Kakashi stood at the old memorial, which held the names of those who had died in battle and were to be forever remembered, carved within the depths of the stone itself and immortalized. But to the silver haired jounin, some of them were immortalized in a much different matter, carved within the depths of his still bleeding heart.

It was a tradition of his, to walk down to the stone memorial, and stand alone in a few moments of silence, mourning for the loss of his fallen friend. He often thought "why was I spared too? I should not have been. I deserve to die." It seemed to him, that every time he visited the cold, unfeeling stone, he was repenting for an everlasting sin, which was unforgivable by even the gods of heaven themselves.

The silver haired jounin looked down. His usual nonchalant façade being lifted momentarily as his lone eye set sight in the very spot in which Obito's name had been etched. Deep sorrow bled through the dark color of his uncovered eye, allowing it to shine in a sad brilliance against the sunlight. A gloved hand reached out and laid itself upon the engraved surface, feeling the cold texture.

From a distance, viridian eyes watched the figure, taking in his every movement. She noticed that his posture wasn't the usual relaxed one, but one of a deep sorrow. His figure was slumped down and his concentration was on the great memorial which stood before him. She blinked as the girl could recall something her sensei had said to her in the past.

"_This is a memorial…It includes the names of my best friends…' _ That is what he had said before giving them another shot at the bell test. Sakura had recalled his expression towards that subject as well. It was that of someone who had looked annoyed or frustrated on the outside, but to Sakura it seemed as if he were fighting back some sort of sadness deep within himself. Perhaps he'd be angry at showing something such as sadness in the presence of his students. Not that she ever thought he was weak.

She thought quite the opposite. Deep down within her being, in a part that wasn't quite ready to admit it, she thought he was stronger then Sasuke and perhaps more an individual then Sasuke was as well. When she had thought about it, there were many qualities that Kakashi had shown her over the past several years that were better then what Sasuke had shown her.

The pink haired girl mulled these things over in her mind as she stared at the jounin at the memorial. After standing there with a hand to her chest and concerned look plastered to her face for ten minutes, she came to a conclusion…

Maybe he was right about Sasuke. Perhaps what he told her in survival training was true. She did learn from her battles with Dosu, Zaku and Kin that she couldn't rely on Naruto and Sasuke to protect her all of her life. That she didn't want to be left behind and she grew tired of feeling so useless to the team.

Green orbs looked up to the heavens, watching the occasional bird fly by. She wondered if Kakashi knew she was there, usually he'd be dead on about someone's entrance into an area by reading chakra, but a part of her thought that he had his guard down for the moment.

After all, he hadn't said anything to her, even if he did know that she was behind him.

Maybe she'd just walk up and…

No.

…

Why did she feel the urge to comfort him all of a sudden? He was her teacher! But he was sad…She barely knew him! Yet she's known him all of her life in a way. He had shown all qualities of a good shinobi, but it was much more then that…

He didn't lie. He truly did risk his life for her on several occasions. He was chivalrous and honorable. Maybe even too good for a weak kunoichi like herself. He had given her his guidance, understanding and teachings, and for that she seemed ungrateful. She cheered for Sasuke while he was the one taking on the hard parts of the mission. She worried when Sasuke was getting beaten, but Kakashi was keeping the enemy at bay. If it were just the two of them, she'd spend all her time worrying for Sasuke and get killed by the enemy.

She owed him for his selfless deeds in the past, and the least she could do would be to offer him a little comfort. The look on her face turned into one of determination as she slowly approached him. It seemed that he took no notice as she stood beside of him.

Before saying anything, her viridian eyes slowly traveled over to his form. He stood in place, with a hand on an etched part of the stone. His lone eye filled with sorrow and dejection as his gaze was set upon the stone. A sadness of her own shot across fields of green, turning them a shade darker. After thinking for a few minutes, she decided to take action.

Kakashi noticed that a small hand was placed atop of his. The hand was memorable, lightly colored and feminine in structure. It seemed so familiar. After staring at it for a few minutes, allowing himself to shroud his feelings in a cloak of façade, he looked up to meet with green eyes.

There was a moment of silence as the two gazed at each other, frozen in position. As green orbs burnt into a lone dark one, she could see that he hadn't managed to pull on all of the façade and that his lone eye was still filled with a deep-set sorrow.

"Sakura…"

"Hi, Kakashi-sensei. Did you miss me?" Sakura asked, giving him a concerned look and asking the question in a warm-hearted tone that still held an air of sadness about it.

She noticed the jounin pull off a false happiness by producing his usual happy anime eye and responding. "Of course I did, Sakura. Where are Naruto and Sasuke?"

"Oh, them." The pink haired girl replied. "Probably goofing off, well Naruto anyway. I don't know where Sasuke is."

"You must've gotten turned down by him again."

"What?" Sakura asked, a little outraged that he'd say that when she didn't even _ask _Sasuke anything yet. She was concerned about **him **not **Sasuke.**

"Did I offend you?" He asked.

"Look," She replied in annoyance. "I came down here to see you, not Sasuke. So you can get that off of your mind right now, pal. I've seen Sasuke all through the missions, but I haven't seen you in a long time. You act like Sasuke is all I care about!"

"Perhaps it is." He said nonchalantly.

She knew that she deserved that remark, but felt as if she had to defend herself. He was insulting her pride, after all. "Well, Sasuke isn't sitting here, crying at a memorial." She huffed, and then as soon as she uttered the phrase, she wanted to take it back as she saw the masked man look down.

He pulled his hand away from hers, but it didn't get far, seeing as she caught it firmly, making her sensei jolt to a stop and snap his head up with a "hm?"

"Sorry, you didn't deserve that, but I did. I guess some people just don't like hearing the truth. "She looked down. "On second thought." She let go of his hand. "You can go. But before you do, I want to say that I've saw you the whole time. Is that what you always do, hide your feelings from your students?"

"…" He gave no response, but he didn't leave, rather he stood there silently. He could feel green orbs piercing his soul and felt like a child who'd been caught in the candy jar. He had let his guard down, and that caused him to tense as he felt and impulse to turn cold and get defensive, but repressed it as he reminded himself that he had to be nonchalant and give answers that would let way to mystery.

After the short silence, he answered the question without really answering it. "Perhaps…"

"Okay, those answers really make me mad." Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Let me tell you something about you that you didn't know."

Kakashi sighed to himself in exasperation after hearing another one of Sakura's lectures. At times he felt like her student.

"How can you expect to have any friends when you go around giving people answers like that! You're so annoying! I swear, some of the things you do, you do them just to tick me off! You always act so nonchalantly! It really ticks me off that every time we're ready to go, you're late! Come on, sensei! If someone were dying and you came late, **they'd be dead already!**

The distance you put between yourself and other people is really scary. You seem to untouchable! What are you hiding anyway! Admit it!" She pointed in anger. "You never wanted to depend on anyone, even those who cared about you the most. Like when we fought Zabuza, you told us to run away, like we didn't even care about you! What was that about? Why would we just leave you there…Now that I think about it, you contradict yourself! You said that if someone left their team mates to die, that they would be worse then scum! So what the hell, Kakashi-sensei? That was like a double edged sword and either way we'd get stabbed! Is your god-forsaken life so worthless that you'd think that I think it too? **DENSE! Dense, dense, dense! That's what you are!**" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and then panted heavily.

Kakashi blinked and looked a little surprised that a student would tell him those things, but knew he had no retort that was constitute the flaws that she pointed out to him. He knew it was true, even though he had reasons behind it. He didn't turn to face her, and at that moment in time, didn't feel as if she should see his face—any of it.

"I bet you didn't even hear me!" Sakura huffed, "Are you going to say "perhaps" to **that**? Are you?"

"…"

"What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei? "

"Maybe it is true…" He admitted after a considerable silence.

"Huh?" She blinked,

"But you must understand, Sakura…I carry many burdens, and there are things that I regret." Kakashi said monotonely.

"Is that why you're here?" The pink haired girl asked, her voice toning down into a concerned and even motherly tone. "Do you think it's your fault that your friends died?"

The silver haired man offered no answer for that, but his gesture was all that was required to give Sakura her answer.

The girl's features twisted into those of angst as her eyes shone with sadness. "Kakashi-sensei…" She said her voice sympathetic in tone.

"Look, I'm really sorry. You just made me angry because you thought I wouldn't care about you." A clear hurt shone in her eyes.

"My opinions never effected you this much before. What's the occasion?" Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the girl.

"Because maybe you were right about some things in the past. I feel bad and guilty for the things that I said. I shouldn't treat you like that…Not after everything you did for me. You're a great person…A lot better then I am." She walked up to him and got in front of him. A contemplative look crossed her face before she took his hand again.

"Sakura…"

"It's okay." She gave his hand a gentle and reassuring squeeze. "I'm back and I'm here for you, just like you were here for me."

A fleeting moment ran through Kakashi's head. He wanted to pull away and run. The jounin knew that any sort of close relationship was supposed to be avoided. Nothing good was to come of something that was emotionally beneficial. He didn't deserve to be happy for the sins he had committed in the past.

Kakashi couldn't find the words to say to push her away. It was as if his heart were telling him that classic line, the line he so hated to hear: "Obito wouldn't want you to be sad. He'd like you to be happy. He'd probably smack you if he saw you acting like this." But his mind argued that he'd think he deserved everything he got for being so immature and arrogant in the past.

Being clouded in confusion, the jounin was unable to move, as if he was paralyzed.

He could hear the deflating of his jacket and the sound of textile ruffling as an arm was wrapped about his waist and a head was nestled into his form.

"You can be mad at me all you want, Kakashi-sensei, but I think that you deserve to have someone care about you. It was wrong of me to cheer for Sasuke when it was you who had the hard fight. Everyone needs someone to encourage them, even if they are a jounin." She said, as she bent up her arm, to look at their hands. "So what if you're annoying and late and contradictory? You're a lot of good things too. You're loyal, chivalrous and honorable. You're like a hero to me, and I was just too dumb to see it. You saved my life and you taught me what it meant to work in a team. So, thank you."

At this point in time, Kakashi knew he should get out of the situation, and he had hoped that Naruto or Sasuke would walk up and interrupt. He felt his chest tingle a little and the feeling sent a sense of omen and paranoia through him. Kakashi couldn't allow himself to be close. It would get someone killed again, and that was a burden he didn't want on anyone's shoulders.

But before he could say anything, he felt fingers intertwine with his own. He knew his defenses were turning on as his body tensed up. The girl looked up and saw the look on her sensei's face. "Something wrong?" She asked.

"Hmm…"

"Am I annoying you like Naruto does?" She asked, a bit of worry on her face. The only thing that mattered to her at the moment was that Kakashi felt happy. She couldn't resist the urge to knock out the sadness from his eye.

"No…You're not…"

"Oh." She sighed. "That's good. "

"I'm not like Sasuke. I don't think you're annoying."

Emotion shot through viridian eyes and her features lightened up as she smiled at her sensei. For once, she felt peaceful and the thought of him being so much older then her didn't even cross her mind.

**TBC**

**A/N: Sorry this is late, but it's also two pages over the limit. I have other fanfics to work on, so I have to take turns working on them. Please be patient, and I thank you all for being as patient as you have been on this and my other works. I've been working on Mission: Freak Out Kakashi because it has more reviews then this, but this is my second major project and I thank you all for your fandom and support. **

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	17. Lesson 17: To Love

**A/N: Here is another chapter. It's been a bit hard getting material for these later chapters, but I've managed to accumulate some. I don't know how long this is going to be, but I had originally planned it to be no longer then 27 chapters. I'm getting up there and things are beginning to wind down a little, but I still have a few scenes to write. After I'm done, I'll probably revise this fanfic and correct my spelling mistakes.**

**Blackrose113: Sakura doesn't know Obito's name, you must have misinterpreted something. The thoughts about Obito were Kakashi's. **

**Well, here's chapter 17, enjoy!**

**Lessons in Shinobi Love**

**By: Melissa Norvell**

**Lesson 17: To Love**

Slowly, Kakashi's inner feelings from long ago began to resurface. His loneliness and sorrows of the past. The thought that he deserved to be happy and that he had repented enough for his sins. Perhaps it was Obito's soul, telling him to suck it up and stop whining about something that was beyond his control.

The jounin had mulled it over in his mind for a few moments.

He wanted to show her love, but his inhibitions stopped him from doing such. The jounin wished that he could go back to that day, when he was feeling lonely during survival training and kissed Sakura. Sure, he knew it was wrong to think that way, considering she was only twelve. And he did feel wrong about it. And he had beaten himself up about that event too, making it harder to look at her in the same light.

At this time, he was sad and wanted someone to comfort him. Kakashi had been alone for a long time, and he wanted to always remain alone. That was his code of the shinobi. To not drag others in his affairs, that way there wouldn't be as large of a death factor.

Kakashi didn't know how to take some of the things Sakura had told him. What did she mean by she would be there for him as he was there for her…His thoughts brought him back to the kiss, then he berated himself for being so perverted about it at a time like this.

A disgruntled look crossed his face as Sakura looked up at him and with held a giggle.

"What's that look for, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked with her hand over her mouth, innocent and somewhat playful eyes looking up to him.

He couldn't resist, a small blush came seeping through his skin, turning his cheeks a slight pink. In the back of his mind, he thought that she looked cute in that particular pose. He averted his eye. "Nothing, Sakura."

"But you look guilty about something." Green eyes bore into his own.

Those eyes.

The ones that saw into your soul.

"I was just thinking about what I said to you during survival training." Kakashi attempted to cover it up.

The pink haired girl cocked her head in question. "You mean the thing about forgetting about Sasuke?"

"Yes."

Her features turned skeptical. "Or were you thinking about the kiss?"

The jounin looked as if he had been caught for a few fleeting seconds, before covering it up with his lazy façade.

The girl inched her way closer to her teacher's face, until he could feel her warm breath against his masked face. "Because if you were…I'd like to return the favor."

The silver haired man tried to resist the urge to lean back from her, not quite trusting himself at the moment, but he was paralyzed by his emotions again. He wondered if he slapped himself if she'd still be there. Reading Icha Icha Paradise and falling asleep was something that caused dreams of this nature. Had he just admitted to himself that he had dreams about Sakura?

It seems that he had.

Try as he might, he couldn't seem to get his mind out of the gutter. He could feel a flutter in his chest as his heart raced. Kakashi looked calm on the outside, but inside he was a train wreck of emotions.

"Kakashi-sensei? Did I say something wrong?" The girl looked concerned.

"No, I'm fine." His voice had come out a bit shaky and even a little nervous. He damned himself for that mistake.

"I have found out that there are more important things then Sasuke…" She said softly as her face drew closer still. "And that thing is you."

A lone eye widened as he could feel soft lips give him a warm-hearted kiss through his black shroud. He remained frozen and rigid as the pink haired girl's lips touched his in a tender kiss, filled with understanding and an odd sense of maturity to come from someone who was only fifteen.

After a few moments, he could feel an arm snake around his neck, caressing it gently as her small, feminine hand lay against the side of his neck. Her other hand managed to find its way to his face, resting gently on the side of it, a finger dipped itself under the corner of his mask, as if to pull it down, but the action never came as it rested gently against his skin. Her small body sunk into his.

His eye softened after this action was made as he could feel emotions well up inside of him like nothing he's experienced before. It was odd that these feelings arose and at this moment of all times. Perhaps these are the feelings he had been harboring for her for a long time.

Fighting the urge, his eye blinked a few times before fluttering shut. The rigid sensation in his body was wearing off as he drew out an exhalation. Finally, after he was two minutes into the kiss, one of his arms wrapped around her mid section snugly and he began to kiss her back a little shyly at first, making sure that she wouldn't draw back after the kiss was made.

Sakura didn't draw back at all. She continued kissing him.

The two shinobi continued the kiss for two more minutes, and then Sakura broke the kiss, drawing back from Kakashi only a small distance. She stared into his lone eye, which shone with a majestic and emotional brilliance. She noticed that his eye was so intense. It had always been that way, even when she was younger. The girl always found it hard to stare into an eye like that; it was as if she'd be drawn into an emotional labyrinth. But now she found that his eye was luminescent and shone with the vibrancy of a precious stone, the emotions were still intense- the sorrow, the hardship, the tainting of his soul and the fact that he always tried so hard but seemed to fail. Sakura was transfixed with it for a few moments, before her gaze went to the hand that held the side of his face gently.

She had wanted to ask him this question many times, but held too much respect for him. But a part of her wanted to see his true face. See the real Kakashi-sensei. A part of her wanted to kiss his lips, imagining how they would taste against her own.

"Kakashi-sensei." She asked a shy tone to her voice. "May I-?" The girl gestured to her hand.

After hesitating for a few moments, not knowing what to think, Kakashi finally agreed.

She slowly pulled down the mask, revealing inch by inch the skin that was remained in mystery for years. Green orbs could see the vertical scar, sneaking from the hitai-ate where the Sharingan had been beneath it. Pausing, she looked at his head protector, the metal plate shining brilliantly in the sunlight, then back to his face, which was a little less then half way uncovered, before she asked him another question.

"Can I flip up your head protector? I want to see the Sharingan. I know that might be overstepping my boundaries, but I want to see both of your eyes." She said.

"Go ahead."

Slowly, the small hand lifted up the navy blue cloth to reveal a closed eye, when uncovered, the Sharingan activated, his eye popping open. When the sun hit the Sharingan, it glowed with a fiery vibrancy. The red swirling around in a haunting, yet trance-like way. She could also see the three black spots within the eye and smiled to herself.

"There." Sakura said, and then turned her concentration to inching down the mask.

When she finally uncovered his face, she could see the beauty before her. After pondering to herself for a few moments, she had thought that he was even better looking then Sasuke. The black fabric hung around the end of his chin. She wouldn't dare pull it the full way down-not yet.

She looked at his lips, and silently anticipated kissing him again. Sakura had never felt a sensation like this, not even around Sasuke. The kunoichi never thought that her teacher could bring about such feelings. A small part of her screamed that it was wrong, but she didn't care. Sakura told her inner self to shut up for once.

"Kakshi-sensei…" The girl said in awe.

But in awe of what? This Kakashi didn't know, and feeling a little uncomfortable with his face being exposed, he put a hand slowly over the bridge of his nose, acting as a mask to cover his features.

"Now, why did you do that?" Sakura asked. "You shouldn't cover your face. You're so hot."

"Hn?" Kakashi looked befuddled for a few moments before the kunoichi reached up, taking his hand tenderly and guiding it away from his face.

"I don't look that good." Kakashi replied.

"But I think you do, and this will prove it." The pink haired girl said, leaning in forward and giving him a small kiss. She pulled away for a few moments, only to lower her head backing for another kiss.

Kakashi returned the kisses, closing his eyes and pulling her in protectively.

After the kisses were broken, the two stared at each other in silence before Sakura spoke.

"Kakashi." The girl said, purposely leaving off the honorific.

"Yes?"

"I really do love you." She replied as his eyes shone in realization.

**TBC**

**A/N: ½ a page shorter then my usual length, but I like it. The next chapter will probably be longer and full of KakaSaku moments. Sorry for the lack of update, summer's been busy for me so far. **

**Also, I have a question. Everyone's reviews tell me that they like the way I represent Sakura…But what about Kakashi?**

**R & R and tell me!**


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